Assuming
by Wyvernwings
Summary: It just makes a fool out of you and me. Harry and Draco have assumed about each other most of their lives, but how much have they ever gotten right? EWE, DHspoilers, rated for later chapters, swearing, violence and a bit of gore. HP/DM and others!
1. Missing You

**Assuming**

Just makes an ass of you and me. Draco and Harry have assumed so many things about the other's life, but how much have they ever gotten right?

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He sat high in the sky, much higher on the field than the snitch normally went, but he wasn't too concerned about it. His eyes flicked across the pitch, watching red dots fly circles around their Slytherin rivals, though ever since the end of the war the team had been in shambles. Really, it was no surprise as the entire house was in shambles. Since the war ended, most of the house was either still in hiding with their parents or trying to make the most of what was left of their life. He watched the seeker make an obvious break towards a snitch he couldn't catch. Harry waited, watching to see if the boy was going to hit the ground. At the last moment the wobbly little third year managed to save himself, effectively loosing the snitch. He sighed shaking his head, he turned in the air to watch the game. His lions were masacuring the Slytherin's and they were hardly treating it as more than practice. He thought about ending the game, but it was just a half hour in, and everyone would be disappointed if he made an honest go for the snitch and caught it. Besides, his team needed a bit of practice before they played Ravenclaw anyway. Sitting back on his broom, he smiled down at the stands, his sharp eyes picking up a red head bent over a bushy brown. It was about damned time.

It was odd, that Ron had decided to take a year off from Quidditch while he was still playing. The reason was even more odd.

"I have to have time for my studies." He had said, and Harry had split pumpkin juice all over the boy. Hermione, with slightly more tact, had merely dropped her jaw open, letting toast crumbs spill from her mouth.

"Say again?" Harry sputtered.

"Studies, you know, for Auror training. Honestly mate, I figured if anyone would understand it would be you and Mione. I know the rest'a the house'll be upset, but there's nothing I can do." He shrugged and continued to shove food in his face.

If Harry didn't know better, he would have thought it was a ploy to get on Hermione's good side, and if it was, well, it was obviously working. He smirked lightly as the brown and red took off from the stands and then grimaced at the thoughts of what they might be doing.

Determined to think about _anything _but that he turned his attention back to the game. The Slytherin seeker, some fifth year who's name Harry hadn't bothered to learn, wobbled a bit on his broom as a stiff wind. He wasn't much of a distraction at all, in fact, Harry thought that at some point me might have to go and rescue the boy. It was times like these he actually found himself missing that damned blonde. It was hard to believe, but something about the easy way they fell into senseless aggression… He smiled gently and started a slow sweep around the pitch.

His mind wandered a bit, searching the field subconsciously for the only person who was any challenge to him for the snitch. He sighed, seeing only the black haired fifth year again, this time trying and failing to avoid a bludger that Draco could have seen coming a mile away.

He didn't blame the boy for not coming back for a last year at the school, been happy at first. A year without the blonde git to harass him at every corner, to sneer and insult. But almost half way to winter break he found himself looking for the boy. The constant irritation, the insults and banter, they had become part of what school was to him. He would see a blonde head down the hall way and his eyes would strain to see if the evil git was finally back, and more than once had found himself nearly assaulting Luna. This had, unfortunately, been misinterpreted by Ginny as an unrequited love, and despite both his and Luna's best efforts, the Weasley girl would not be placated. Ron had stopped speaking to him for about a week, taking his sister's side of the story without listening to Harry, but by this time, Harry had just waited it out. He had had enough arguments with Ron to realize that trying to prove himself innocent only ever looked more incriminating to his best mate. After the appropriate amount of time had passed, Hermione had calmed down the boy, and their friendship continued where it left off, with only slight chips on both boys' shoulders. But that thought lead him right back to the thought of Ron's highly satisfied face and…

The snitched popped up to his left, as if greeting him before taking a swing down towards the pitch. Harry inched in the opposite direction as he watched the snitch. It flickered past forbidden forest and then flew back away, but there was something… silver down in its path.

Harry paused, watching the silver. It didn't glint or shimmer like a metal, but was soft like a fabric or… hair. He felt his gut churn in that familiar way. The way that said he had better listen to it or prepare to face multiple contusions.

Without a second thought he sped forward and leaving the pitch behind and ignoring the calls of Hooch and his teammates. He thought he knew what it was, even though there was no way it could be…

Harry pulled his broom up hard as his eyes recognized the prostrate figure.

"Malfoy." He muttered, amazed to see the boy. "Speak of the devil."

There was no answer though, no quick quip about Harry's ability to speak at all, or what would the devil want to talk to him about. There was a nothing. Not even the movement of a falling chest.

Hopping off his broom Harry ran to the boy, slowing only when he considered at last that it might be a trick.

"Malfoy?" He asked again, moving closer to the prone figure, his wand drawn. "What are you doing here?"

Again there was no answer, and with a nudge of his toe, Harry pushed the boy onto his back.

He gagged, his hands moving up to his mouth, suddenly uncertain if he had the right boy at all. Moving the boy on his back had revealed the puddle of blood that Malfoy had been lying in. It was thick and darker than his Quidditch uniform. But then his eyes trailed off of the blood, to the pale skin of the man. The pale skin that was even paler than he remembered, well the skin he could see around the blood and bruises. The boy's face was covered by bloody strings of hair, and his lips were cracked open. Harry paused, before kneeling down one hand checking desperately for a pulse and the other trailing the man's body, looking for the wound that caused the bleeding.

"Malfoy? Fuck, Malfoy?" He asked, his fingers digging deep into the boy's throat, searching for anything like a pulse.

"N-not in… wildest… dreams." The prat managed fluttering his eyes open slowly.

"What the hell happened to you?" Harry asked, pulling back and looking the boy over.

"Less… talk… more… saving... hero." Malfoy sneered through his broken lip. Harry paused, feeling an odd… gratitude that his rival wasn't dead. Later, he would chalk it up to being glad not to have to witness any more death, but for now he simply nodded and furrowed his brows.

"Where are you hurt?" He asked the boy, running his hands over the paler boy's body.

"Pom… frey." Draco sighed, and Harry looked up to see his eyes closing again.

"Oh no you don't, stay with me." Harry snarled and slapped the boy's face.

"Fuck off." Draco muttered, and Harry almost chortled that he could only manage to say that clearly. Instead he lifted the boy up and hurried back to his broom. After a moment's arranging, he threw the boy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and took off towards the school.

"Mr. Potter I was just on my-Oh dear." McGonagall stopped in her tracks as she saw Harry carrying the boy. "What happened?"

"I was looking for the snitch and saw him out by on the field."

"Right, well then, let's get him to Poppy." McGonagall amended and Harry nodded, still on his broom he flew down the corridors to the Hospital wing.

"Mr. Potter, you should know better than to fly indoors." Pomfrey scolded without turning around from her patient. "Did someone fall off their broom? It would be the day that I have to be in taking care of a vexing case of—"

"It's Malfoy," Harry interrupted putting the boy on the nearest bed.

"Don't be ridiculous Potter, the boy wasn't returned to—You moved him?" Her voice changed from patronizing to angry in a moment as she laid eyes on the boy.

"I couldn't leave him out there, he was on the edge of the forest." Harry explained.

"Very well, but next time Mr. Potter…" She drifted off as she began to cast various diagnostic and healing spells before hurrying off. As she game back with a handful of potions she looked up at the boy with a vague amount of puzzlement. "What are you still doing here?"

"I, ah, wanted to make sure he was ok." Harry said, a bit confused.

"Get out, get out, if he wakes up you'll just inflame him." Pomfrey said shooing him towards the door as she leaned back over the boy. "And tell McGonagall to prepare a floo to St. Mungo's. I don't know what all I can do for him…"

Harry nodded and backed out of the room, before turning to see a gasping Professor McGonagall at the stairs in front of him.

"Mr. Potter, you will explain what is going on." She said after a moment.

"I honestly don't know." Harry muttered and McGonagall lowered her eyebrows a bit and Harry shook his head. "No, I really don't. I was flying high and saw the snitch and then his hair."

"You mean to tell me that at over a hundred feet you saw Mr. Malfoy and flew to him because of his hair?"

"Yes, I don't know why, it was just one of those things… I needed to do it." Harry said trying to explain it.

"Oh Harry," McGonagall sighed, setting a hand on his shoulder. "I thought we were past all this. I thought when the war ended…"

"Look, with all do respect Professor, I'm not looking to—to be a hero anymore." Harry said, backing away from the weight she was putting on him. It wasn't just her hand… her words, the ones she didn't say, they were too heavy for him.

"Oh, I'm quite sure of that Harry, but I'm afraid that we don't always have to be looking for things for them to find us."

"No, you don't understand. I might have saved him, but it's nothing that anyone else couldn't have done." Harry said finding his back against the wall.

"If that's what you say Mr. Potter." McGonagall said and started to move past him.

"Will you keep me updated?" Harry asked, as McGonagall started to enter the hospital wing.

"Of course, as long as Mr. Malfoy is alright with it." She said before disappearing into the room.

Harry sighed and backed his head against the wall.

"I can't believe I missed that… that… ugh," Harry groaned and set his head in his hands.

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~~~~~Oh my, I haven't written a fanfiction in… years. How'm I doin' Comments? Questions? Concerns? I don't have anything to give out yet, but maybe if I get enough reviews the production factory will reopen, I have a sneaky suspicion that there might be Luna dolls coming out shortly… And she'll be with someone you won't expect!~~~~~~~


	2. Rueing You

**Ruing You**

((Wow! So many people reading the story! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, moved into college yesterday, it was hectic. Ok, next chapter for you!))

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"Mr. Potter?" McGonagall called as Harry was leaving the dinner. He was really getting sick of people calling him that. He almost missed Snape's snarled 'Potter' just for a change of pace. He paused and shook his head. The last time he missed someone, he had shown up on the edge of death. He really didn't need a zombie Snape, the regular one was enough of a flesh eating monster.

"Yes?" He asked turning to his former head of house. The entrance hall was quiet and still, not odd for it being the middle of dinner. Harry hadn't been hungry, and Ron and Hermione, after a few moments of trying to persuade him to eat, had given up and gone back to their own meals. He had been distracted by the whole ordeal of the day.

"Mr. Malfoy would like to see you." She said, with an odd lilt to her voice.

"I'm sorry?" Harry muttered turning to the woman, who was obviously going senile.

"You heard me Potter, I won't repeat myself." McGonagall said sternly and ushered the man towards the hospital wing.

"I thought he was headed to St. Mungo's." Harry said, following the woman.

"When he regained consciousness he made a very… convincing argument against going."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, looking at the transfiguration teacher with confusion.

"I mean that he will not be going to St. Mungo's and no one is to know he's here at all." She said sternly and then sighed "Though I expect you've already told Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, no one else is to know, and you are to make sure they don't tell anyone else."

"Yes Ma'am." Harry murmured, a bit uncertain as to what to do.

"Potter, you might want to brace yourself, Mr. Malfoy is in pretty bad shape." McGonagall said as they approached the hospital wing. "And I think you'll find it a bit… personal."

Before Harry could ask what she meant by that, he was ushered into the room, where his rival was spread out on a bed, his chest bare except for a large bandage spread down the same place… The same place…

"Did—I do this?" Harry asked looking down at the chest that was laid open in the same strip where he had cast sectumsempra.

"Ever the idiot." Draco muttered turning to Harry. One of his arms was covered in a bandage as well, no, not just one of his arms, his left forearm.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Harry asked looking the boy over. There was another cut on his forehead, bandaged up as well, and tons of little cuts all over his body.

"Dark magic." Draco said taking a deep breath like he was going to start on an insult but then stopped. "A reliving spell. I had to endure all my most painful memories, mentally and physically."

"Pomfrey, I think he's hexed, he's not acting like himself."

"Shut you're yap you bloody moron, I'm trying to be civil." Malfoy snarled and shook his head.

"Why?" Harry asked, crossing his arms over his chest and standing back on one leg. He wasn't falling for any of the blonde's tricks.

"Because you kinda saved my life you asshole." Malfoy snarled and then winced. "Crap…"

"What's the matter?"

"It's reopening." He muttered and Pomfrey, who had been scowling at the conversation nodded grabbing another set of potions and forcing them down the blonde's throat.

"What the hell was that?"

"Mr. Potter, five points from Gryffindor, and you'd do well to remember to watch you're tongue. I let the first one slip but you would do well to remember I'm in the room." McGonagall scolded.

"What about Malfoy?" Harry complained.

"He is neither enrolled in school nor being anywhere near as filthy with his words. And he's in quite a good deal of pain." She said, her head high in that familiar way that said she was not to be argued with.

"Right…" Harry muttered looking back to where Draco was lying. There was blood welling up from the mark left by Harry.

"Mr. Malfoy I'm not sure this is a good idea, I haven't gotten you stabilized yet." Pomfrey said, though her voice said that she wanted everyone out of the room.

"Not yet." Malfoy said softly around a bit of potion she was shoving down his throat. He pushed her hand away and she sighed. "Potter, we're in trouble."

"_We_? What do you mean _we_?"

"You thought it was over didn't you?" Draco said, a sense of awe filling his voice. "You thought, if you killed him, it would all be over?"

"It is over, everything but a few remaining trials." Harry snarled standing up straighter and throwing his arms down.

"You really are an imbecile." Draco said in complete disbelief. His eyes were wide and he shook his head. "Did you think the Death Eaters were just going to disappear? That they would just lay down and die? Did you lay down and die when Dumbledore was killed?"

"What's you're point Malfoy?" Harry snarled.

"My point is that I risked my life to tell you to watch you're back." Draco snarled and shook his head.

"Why would you do that?" Harry asked folding his arms over his chest again. "I already testified to keep you and you're family out of jail."

"And I wish you hadn't…" Draco whispered, his voice could barely be heard over Pomfrey's bustling. "Look, believe or not Potter, I never liked being a Death Eater, and it wasn't exactly my choice."

"Right, I'm suppose to believe that?" He snorted. "Look Malfoy, I saved your life, you're welcome. Consider it payback for letting me borrow your wand."

"Borrow? You stole my wand and you never gave it back you ass! You have no idea what I've gone through because of that!" Draco snarled his body thrashing as he tried to get up.

"Mr. Malfoy, you will lay down and rest at once, and Mr. Potter you will remove yourself from the hospital wing." Pomfrey said, her voice shrill with her urgency.

"I think perhaps that is for the best." McGonagall nodded moving towards the door.

"Not yet." Draco snarled and calmed himself down so that he wasn't thrashing. "Potter, stay away from Hufflepuff."

"What?" Harry asked pausing and turning back to the blonde he had started to walk away from.

"They're not… they're not the poofs you think they are."

"Let's get this straight Malfoy, I never called the Huffle—"

"Out!" Pomfrey yelled and Harry hurried out the doors.

"Bloody crazy bas—"

"Mr. Potter, you would do well to take Malfoy seriously, the nature of his curse is not yet fully understood, but what we do know is that any memory of an unfortunate event causes a wound to reopen. He must have meant what he said, or had a very good reason for lying to you." McGonagall said. "Either way, I would suggest you not dismiss him so easily."

"Yes Professor, whatever you say." Harry nodded.

"You're dismissed Mr. Potter. Please tell your friends to keep our visitor a secret hm?"

"Of course Professor."

"And Harry? Do be safe." McGonagall said softly as she walked away.

Harry sighed and turned towards Gryffindor Tower. As he walked up the stairs he watched the portraits. He'd been here for so long he almost knew all of them, but they still fascinated him. He watched a little girl hurried from portrait to portrait looking for her dog that had run away, and of course Sir Cadogan was riding at her aid, insistent that this was a vile travesty. Harry smiled and wasn't too worried. The dog was probably off in the kitchen, he'd seen it there a few times on after dinner snack runs, begging food from the portraits down there. He thought about voicing that when a portrait suggested the same thing, and the two went off down to the kitchen.

"Blibbering Humdingers." Harry sighed at the Fat Lady who looked quite proud of herself. He rued the day that Ginny first introduced Luna to the Fat Lady. Even more he rued the fact that they had gotten on so well. All the passwords this year had been one of Luna's creatures.

"Thank you dear, have you heard? We've had a recent invasion of Wrackspurts?"

"Er, right, thanks, I'll be sure to get some radishes for my ears." Harry muttered hurrying through the portrait.

"Dirigible plums dear! But very sensible dear! Do be careful, those wrackspurts will ruin your grades!"

"Right…" Harry said closing the portrait to drown out the woman.

"Harry! Where were you? You said you were coming back here to work on homework." Hermione said, hurrying to check him over.

"Fine, fine, you I just had to check in on that guest I found a while back."

"You mean M—"

"My new friend? Yeah, he wanted to see me. I thought I'd drop by after dinner." Harry interrupted Ron with a stern look.

"Friend? What do you mean friend?" Ron said, his voice reaching near glass shattering range.

"Can we talk about this someplace a bit more private?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the boys dormitory.

"Yes, lets." Hermione said, grabbing her stuttering boyfriend and dragging him up the stairs.

"Harry, bloody hell mate, since when are you and—"

"Silencio!" Harry whispered as he pulled the curtains on his bed closed.

"I didn't know you could use that spell like that." Hermione said as Ron's voice was cut off as he sat on the inside of the bed. He poked his head out of the curtains and his voice returned, unfortunately.

"Oh yeah, learned it when we were in third years, the upperclassmen taught us it so they didn't have to listen to us beat off." Ron said. Hermione's jaw dropped for a moment and Harry flushed before pushing both Ron and Hermione onto his bed and closing the curtains.

"Right, anyway, as I was saying."

"No as I was saying, blimey mate, what's going on? Calling Malfoy your friend?" Ron interrupted Harry again.

"I said that to get you to shut up. No one can know he's here."

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"He said we're in danger, and that no one can know he's here. Professor McGonagall was very clear that she didn't it to get out he was here. He's already got her on his side."

"Harry, you said he was hurt, maybe he's like Snape?" Hermione asked.

"He's nothing like Snape!" Harry scowled. "Snape… was a conniving bastard, but at least he was doing it for the right reasons. Malfoy's just another bloody git trying to do anything to save his own pale ass."

"His own pale ass is already saved." Hermione interjected, giving Harry a very McGonagall like look about his swearing.

"Look, I don't know what's going on, but all I know is just because the git shows up half dead on the edge of the forest is no reason to suddenly think he's changed."

"Harry?" A dreamy voice came from the stairs.

"Oh hell, it's Luna." Ron said and Hermione grimaced.

"Look Ron, I know you don't approve of it, but—"

"Harry? Ginny wants to know if you've seen Arnold, he quite likes you." Luna asked coming up to the top of the stairs and looking in. "Oh, am I interrupting you?"

"No it's fine, I haven't seen the puff anywhere, has she tried summoning it?"

"No… She's afraid of hurting it. I worry about it too. I think it's sick. You know when we spent Boxing day together it didn't sing…" Luna murmured.

"Wait, you were seeing Ginny then?" Ron asked, leaping to his feet.

"Just as friends." Luna smiled softly. "I'd never betray Harry's trust like that."

"Never betray Harry my sweet ass." Ron muttered under his breath. After he was convinced that Harry hadn't cheated on Ginny with Luna he had gone on to assume that Luna had stolen Ginny from Harry. Harry sighed, wishing that Ron would give it up. He was just happy the girls were happy together. Hermione said it had been inevitable, with Luna obviously being interested in Ginny since Dumbledore's Army.

"Oh well. I'll leave you back to you're plotting. But Harry, if you need us, Ginny and I are always there for you." Luna smiled her dreamy smile before walking back down the stairs singing "Arnold? Aaarnold!"

"Honestly, that girl, I don't know how you can be so supportive Harry." Ron sighed huffing.

"I'm happy for them, really." Harry said. He hadn't been able to do anything more than kiss Ginny in all the months they'd been dating and he knew she wanted more than that.

"I think they're sweet together." Hermione smiled and then frowned. "Oh no… I think I saw Crookshanks with something pink hanging from his mouth earlier."

"Oh Mione, not again!" Harry sighed. "Fine, I'll get Bathilda to have George send us another one of his Arnolds in the morning. Honestly Hermione you have to keep a better eye on Crookshanks."

"I still maintain that cat's a bloody menace." Ron grumbled.

"Ronald Weasley, might I remind you that cat saved our lives once." Hermione said, inflating to her full height in defense of her precious cat.

"Right, look, scabbers was a good rat really, just a nasty person." Ron muttered.

"I can _not _believe you just said that." Hermione fumed. Harry sat back on his bed as he watched his two best friends fight. It was… refreshing in a way, almost relaxing if not for the part where they kick Harry out so that they can 'continue their argument in private'.

He sighed a bit and shook his head. They'd gotten nothing worked out, but it was fine with Harry. Honestly, if they had honestly been worried, had sat down and started to conspire like the used to… It might have made the situation more real. Make it seem like they really were back in the 'hero' business. He shook his head at that. He was done, he didn't care what Malfoy said. Everything was settling down and the world was going to smoothly.

Damn it, he was not letting that git screw up the rest of his life like he had the first part of it.

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~~~Luna and Ginny dolls for all of the reviewers! They're so cute together! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed, knowing you're enjoying it means a lot to me!~~~~~


	3. Getting You Pregnant

**Getting You Pregnant**

((Thank you so much for the reviews! I really enjoy them. And thank you all my silent stalkers ;) you make me feel loved too! If you come up with something to say, just pipe up and I'll be sure to get back to you!))

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"Mr. Potter." Harry gritted his teeth, lately, whenever someone called him that it was nothing but bad news. And the worst news of all was Malfoy.

"Yes Professor?" He asked, struggling to keep a polite tone in his voice.

"I'd like to ask a favor of you." Harry turned slowly to see the Dean of the school. It was only second period and already she wanted to ruin his day. What had he ever done to fate for it to screw him over so bad? Was he a murderer in a passed life? Did he kick a puppy?

"What Professor?" He asked.

"I was wondering how you would like to keep privet chambers. They could be connected to Gryffindor commons; I know a room that could make itself available for that."

"And the catch Professor?" Harry asked, trying desperately to remain calm.

"What makes you think there's a catch Harry?" McGonagall asked with a slight frown.

"The part where you said 'favor' would be my first hint usually." Harry said, watching as McGonagall's face fell.

"Ah, right, well, you see… We need to find a more private place for Mr. Malfoy to be housed than the hospital wing."

"Why don't you just set him up in his old dorm?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Potter, you know quite well that we don't want Malfoy's presence to be known to the rest of the school." McGonagall said, sounding nearly affronted by the suggestion.

"Fine, but I don't see why you'd like me to room with him." Harry said.

"Well you see, we need someone we can trust to keep him safe and make sure he's taking his potions, and while you do pose a serious health risk to him, you're the only one I can think of who is both capable of defending him and might be willing to."

"Why do you suppose I'd be willing to protect him?" Harry asked, starting to feel like he was going to be backed into this whether he wanted to help or not.

"You're the one who saved him; you're the one who's responsible for him. Now I didn't want to pin the boy on you, I was hoping you would accept your responsibility with honor." Her chin was in the air and Harry sighed. The way she told it, it was like Harry had gotten Malfoy pregnant, not saved his life.

"Don't you think there's someone better out there for this task? Maybe Goyle, his parents sent him back, I'm sure he'd be delighted to see his old ring leader." Harry said with only limited snark in his voice.

"Mr. Malfoy was very specific in his saying that it could be no one who didn't already know he was around. And as wonderful as Poppy is, she couldn't defend herself against a dark kneazle." Harry was about to point out that kneazles could be rather nasty when the look on the Professor's face told him to bite his tongue.

"Fine." Harry sighed. "But can I just point out that we are aiding and complying with a death eater?"

"He's no longer a Death Eater. I've seen that for myself." McGonagall said cryptically, turning away from Harry before he could ask any further questions.

"Bloody brilliant." He sighed and walked into Slughorns potions class. He sighed sitting down.

"Hello Harry, you seem a bit down, well don't worry, I'm sure today will be better than yesterday." Professor Slughorn said, clapping Harry on the back as he walked by.

"What's wrong with you?" Ron asked sitting down next to Harry. He had gotten into this course by the skin of his teeth, and was battling almost as hard as Harry to stay afloat in it. The only thing that kept them from failing was Hermione's constant tutoring.

"I'm moving out apparently." Harry snarled.

"Excuse me?" Ron gasped, his eyes wide as an eagle owl's.

"McGonagall asked me to keep an eye on our new friend. Apparently I got him pregnant or some lark."

"What the bloody hell are you going on about?" Ron asked.

"I'd always thought wizards believed in life debts."

"We do."

"Well then how come I've saved Mal-my friend's ass twice now and I still have to babysit him?" Harry choked; his voice had been rising in his fit until he had almost said the boy's name. After that he instinctively dropped back down to a whisper.

"I still haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about mate." Ron said shaking his head.

"Mr. Potter, Weasley, if you would be so kind as to pay attention, I'm sure neither one of you wants to lose participation points."

"No Professor." They said in unison and dropped their heads down. Harry tried to explain himself a few more times during class, but ever since the Battle of Hogwarts Slughorn had been more observant and less forgiving.

"Alright, now what were you going on about?" Ron said as soon as class let out.

"I'm going to be moving in with our friend because apparently the prat can't take care of himself."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, McGonagall went on about how he was my responsibility now that I saved him, and that I had to protect him and make sure he takes his potions." Harry sighed.

"Blimey, talk about good deeds and punishments." Ron muttered and Harry nodded. "When are you moving in?"

"I haven't the faintest."

"Right well I'll see you after Divination. I wish you took it, Firenze is really cool if you stay away from his hooves." Ron smirked and took off, hoping to avoid that very thing if he was late. Harry shook his head, he was just happy that Firenze was happy and healthy again, it had been a long recovery for the centaur after the Battle of Hogwarts, but his herd had finally accepted him again.

"Harry! Oh Harry!" Hermione beamed wrapping herself around him in an annoyingly familiar way that only meant one sort of thing.

"You aced another test didn't you? Or are we having a pop quiz in Herbology?" He sighed at the thought.

"Neither! You'll never believe it but at the beginning of next term they're offering advanced runes!"

"Wonderful Mione, just wonderful." He smiled trying to make it look sincere.

"You will take it with me won't you? You're doing so well in ruins that I thought maybe you'd like this course as well!" She smiled and Harry sighed.

"I'll think about it Mione, but I might be busy."

"What could be more important than your studies?" She asked, seeming personally affronted by the very idea.

"Well, I'm apparently going to be moving in with my new friend."

"Your… Harry what are you talking about?"

"You know the one."

"Well yes, but he couldn't move in with you, and I don't see how you could move in with him."

"Apparently there are rooms even the map doesn't know about, or maybe they just don't exist yet, because he's going to be moving in with me in a private room in Gryffindor." Harry said as they made their way down to the green houses.

"Oh I've heard of those! They used to be used a lot more commonly in the past. They have them for all sorts of different dorms, not just ours, and even have co dorm rooms. I hear there's even one that goes from Gryffindor tower to the Slytherin common room." Hermione said, in her calm ever knowing way.

"Why would they ever be used?" Harry asked, looking a bit stunned.

"Honestly Harry, Hogwarts has been around for hundreds of years! Not too horribly long ago most wizards our age were married. Most would drop out before they had children, or pass the children off to house elves, but most pure blood families insisted that they're children received a complete education. Even after they were married."

"I still don't see how that has anything to do with the rooms."

"Honestly Harry, if you married Susan Bones would you want to have to trek all the way down to the basement to work on consummating your marriage and then all the way back up to Gryffindor tower?"

"Can we not talk about me consummating anything with Susan Bones?" Harry asked, slightly green as they reached the top of the tower.

"You know what I mean." Hermione said, giving him her patented 'don't be an ass' look. "Anyway, because of just that sort of thing a set of rooms was created that could open into multiple places depending on the person and where they needed to be. Portal magic is rather difficult to cast and can be a bit dangerous though, especially when the user is undecided. That's why most travel is done by portkey, floo, or apparition instead of portal. But it has its uses." Hermione said and Harry shook his head. Hermione paused and then giggled a bit.

"What?"

"Well, it's just… Those rooms can only be used by married couples. I don't know how McGonagall plans to change the magic on the portal to let you two live there."

"Brilliant." Harry sighed slamming his head into his hand. "Just brilliant. I might as well have knocked him up."

"Harry?"

"Never mind me, I'm just going on." He muttered.

"Oh, well class is about to start." Hermione smiled turning her attention to Professor Sprout, who had been in a foul mood for most of the first half of the year. The Death Eaters had either sold or used almost all of her most precious plants. She sighed as she stroked a tendril of Venomous Tentacula that was waving sadly on her desk. It was one of three strands that had survived the battle, and she couldn't get any more.

"Class… Today we will be studying belladonna."

"Professor, we all know about belladonna from potions." Harry pointed out and Sprout gave him a disapproving look.

"Muggle belladonna perhaps. Witches belladonna is a very temperamental plant, a beautiful lady who has high standards and must be treated right. You will each be given a seed of magical belladonna, as my own stores of the plant are gone, and you will raise it properly. Magical belladonna, or Regina Inter Bellus Domna, is a highly difficult to raise, and you will find three chapters of your book dedicated to this plant alone. And before you ask Mr. Potter, this plant differs from muggle belladonna in its toxicity. Regular belladonna is highly poisonous and must be diluted to find a proper strength if it is to be used in a healing potion, however Magical belladonna is much less toxic and a leaf or berry from the plant in proper mixtures can be used right off the plant. As it is, harvesting an above average specimen from each part of your plant will be thirty percent of your final grade this year." Sprout said and began handing out small sliver seeds. "You will find all of the strictly necessary supplies in the green house, however as this will be your only homework for the rest of the year, any other supplies you may want you must either come to me about in private, or you will have to buy on your own." Sprout said handing off a slightly darker seed to Harry. He looked at Hermione who was frowning slightly as she examined her near white seed.

"Professor?"

"No Miss Granger, there will be no option to opt out for a paper, no matter the length you wish to offer." Sprout said firmly. "Madam Pomfrey needs more healing supplies and many of the plants used for her potions can be substituted with a bit of belladonna of the proper part."

Harry sighed and began working with the rest of the class on planting the seed.

"_'Fold gently into soil and add two thimbles of water.'_ What kind of instruction is that?" Harry asked, looking the seedling over.

"Well it could be worse, one of the options in the back is adding a drop of blood to the soil so that it recognizes you as its care taker." Hermione said, doing just that and wincing a bit as the blood dripped on her white sliver seed. It quivered in her fingers and then turned black.

"Professor?" She asked, looking a bit frantic.

"Yes Ms. Granger? Ah so you decided to go with the blood route. Well it is a bit more challenging but more rewarding. Don't worry about the color, the darker the seed before planting the healthier it is."

"Then why are most of the seeds silvery?" Harry put in, looking over his slightly darker seed with new respect.

"It's a difficult plant Mr. Potter, buying perfect specimens would have been horribly expensive, and none of the seeds are past the skill of their handler, I made sure of that passing them out." Sprout said and turned away, while Harry decided that maybe he shouldn't respect the little seed quite so much.

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((Sorry it took so long everyone. I moved into collage Saturday so life's been... hectic to say the least. Not to mention I've been SWAMPED with homework. Hopefully I'll find a balance soon! But don't worry I will pretty much always update at least once a week. If not I'll give out extra special prizes. By the way, this chapter's prize is a lovely silver Belladonna seed. And for those of you who are good at latin, if you want to correct mine, by all means tell me and I'll edit the plant.[Never could conjugate]. ))


	4. Marrying You

**Marrying You**

((Just wanted to say thanks again for the review! [Sings] The more people review, the more loved I feel, the more loved I feel the more I write! So review after every chapter! [Sung loosely to the musical fruit song]))

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"Mr. Potter." Harry didn't hesitate to roll his eyes as he looked up from his lunch. Really, he couldn't go more than an hour without being harassed. "If you would restrain your attitude long enough I will show you to your new room. All of your items have already been moved there."

Harry sighed and nodded, standing up. Hermione and Ron moved to follow but McGonagall frowned.

"I think that it would be best for everyone if you two remained here." She said, and there was no argument in her voice. Still, Ron opened his mouth as if to protest before Hermione pulled him back down to his seat.

"Of course Professor." She smiled up at the transfiguration teacher. Though she only taught the highest levels of transfiguration now that she was the headmaster. Another teacher had been hired to do the lower level classes, but McGonagall had not deemed the professor fit for all of the duties yet. Hermione said that McGonagall would hold the position until another Animagus wanted it, as Animagi had a deeper understanding of transfiguration than any other wizard. Unfortunately, no registered animangus seemed interested in a teaching job.

Harry stood up, the potted plant under one arm and his bag over the other shoulder, following the Head Mistress out of the room. He looked around, but no one but the first years even knew it was odd to be leaving with Professor McGonagall, as most still remembered her mainly as their own Transfiguration Professor.

"Harry, I do know this is a lot to ask of you." McGonagall began, as if the whole responsibility talk had never taken place. "But I do appreciate how accommodating you've been to our guest. It takes a very big man to put aside past differences and accept that everyone deserves a second chance."

Harry started to open his mouth to rebut her comment but closed it again. There was very little arguing with McGonagall, even when she was wrong. He wasn't being a 'big man' he was merely being guilted into it. He followed McGonagall in relative silence as they moved up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

"The entrance to your room will be here." She said, pointing to portrait just the other side of the fat lady. Harry bawked a bit, as the portrait was no bigger than his head.

"EGO diligo vos." She said softly to the portrait of a young couple drinking tea together. The man looked up at her and sighed before swinging outward, and taking a large section of wall with him.

"Doesn't that mean…"

"I'm afraid all of the passwords have to be affectionate, otherwise the spells don't work properly. As it is, we will need to hold a bonding ceremony for the two of you." McGonagall said, stepping into the space created. Harry stopped, dead in his tracks before hurrying in and slamming the portrait behind him.

"I don't care what is going on, I will _not_ marry Malfoy. That is too much to ask of me!" Harry yelled as he followed McGonagall into the common area of the room.

"Of course not. A bonding and a wedding are two very different things." McGonagall said, looking affronted at the idea. "In a bonding you swear something to the other, in a wedding you swear a set of vows."

"It doesn't sound very different." Harry said, still looking annoyed.

"Believe it or not Potter, I'm none to thrilled about this either. Though it was nice of you to bring me a plant on our wedding day. Shame you couldn't remember it was suppose to be a picked flower." Draco drawled, walking into the room with a nasty limp and an arm pressed up against his chest.

"Malfoy." Harry addressed the boy as politely as he could muster. "If you're so against this, then why don't we just call the whole thing off? It's not like we had a big ceremony planned, your parents don't know and mine are dead."

Harry nearly spat the last line to avoid having the other boy talk about his parents.

"I agree entirely. I'd rather just live in a guest room." Draco said, looking to McGonagall.

"Guest rooms do not move, and it would be a horrible inconvenience to both Poppy and Mr. Potter to run the entire length of the castle to get to you should you need help." McGonagall said. "Now both of you hold out your wands."

Harry did as he was told and watched Draco sneer at him before doing the same. McGonagall crossed the two wands in an x and took a deep breath before pressing the tip of her wand to the connection point.

"Harry Potter, do you swear to protect Draco Malfoy to the best of your ability, to be courteous and treat him at least as well as a friend?"

"Do I have a choice?" He asked before McGonagall gave him a stern look. "Fine, yeah sure, whatever."

"Draco Malfoy, do you swear to protect Harry Potter to the best of your ability, to be courteous and treat him at least as well as a friend?"

"I do." Malfoy said looking solemn.

"You are bound." McGonagall said, and for a moment both wands vibrated. As soon as McGonagall pulled back her wand, Harry pulled back.

"I hardly think that was a fair deal." He stated, curling a lip up a bit in a snarl. "I know that I treat my friends much better than he treats his."

"You sound like a petulant child." Draco sneered again and both yelped a bit as their wands vibrated in their hands.

"You will notice when you test the bond made, it will become rather uncomfortable." McGonagall noted. "While it is not an Unbreakable Vow, the point of the exercise to ensure that the oath is fulfilled. This sort of bonding was once done frequently in higher positions in the Ministry, but unfortunately has been considered antiquated and is considered a violation of a person's will.

"A thousand witches would probably rip off their wand hands to be in my position, being violated by Potter." Draco muttered darkly.

"Oh do pretend you don't like it you poof." Harry grumbled right back and again their wands vibrated in their hands rather unpleasantly.

"You might notice that the worse your behavior is the stronger the consequences will be." McGonagall added, though she seemed more than slightly annoyed at the boys, she was insistent on finishing her explanation. She started towards the door and Harry panicked for a moment.

"Will Ron and Hermione be able to visit me? Now that the bonding is over that is?" Harry asked as McGonagall looked like she was about to leave.

"Of course, I don't see why you would even worry. Though they won't be able to go into your bedroom." She added before hurrying out the door, having had enough of the two bickering boys.

"Brilliant, not only am I stuck with the Gryffin-Geek, I'm stuck with his laciest Weaselby and the Mudblood."

"Don't talk about my friends that way!" Harry snarled and moved to launch a jinx at Malfoy, only to find himself falling to the ground with jelly-legs instead. He yelped and after performing the anti-hex looked over to see Malfoy muttering a boil removal charm on himself.

"Well fuck." Harry grumbled, pulling himself to his feet.

"Don't get any ideas." Malfoy sneered.

"Not even if you begged me." Harry snarled back, and then there was silence. Both boys stood there looking each other over, for the first time since the train, they stood there not knowing what to make of the other.

"So… We have to be nice to each other." Harry said at last.

"Speak for yourself. You're the one who said I treat my friends like dogs." Malfoy snarled and flopped down into an armchair. Harry bit back a response that was already half way out of his mouth before shaking his head. He needed to calm down before they said another word, and to do that, he needed to not think about Malfoy.

Harry looked around the room, taking in the colors as he did. It was done up in whites and reds, looking like some clichéd honeymoon suite. There was a fire in the middle of the room and a door to either side of the main room.

Ignoring Malfoy Harry walked around the room, examining things.

In the door to the right there was a bedroom with two small twin beds pressed up just about next to each other as there was no other space for them. It was obvious the room had been designed for a single good sized bed with a two dressers and beside tables. This room was also done up in red and white, though it mostly red, with only white accents. It looked like someone had bleed out St Valentines, and even the bedspreads were the same reds and whites as the rest of the suite.

He closed the door behind him and moved back into the common room before checking out the door to the left.

Inside was a large tub, looking more like a Jacuzzi than anything that one would use to scrub mud off of oneself with. There was also a shower head and a rather ambiguous toilet (as most toilets tend to be), and a standing sink that were all rather unimpressive next to the tub.

Walking back into the room Harry noticed Draco looking over the plant he had dropped on the floor during the unfortunate backfire of the Jelly-leg jinx.

"Careful with that, it's worth thirty percent of my grade." Harry said, stalking over to where Draco was.

"Me? You're the one who dropped the thing on the floor. This is witch's belladonna right? You'll be lucky if it sprouts now. You might have offended the plant to death." Draco said, gently scooping the soil back into the plant.

"That's absurd." Harry grumbled, making to snatch the project back from the boy.

"How stupid are you? Even muggles know that plants are sensitive to words, and Regina is more sensitive than any of your muggle breeds. It's a high breed plant of dignity, a pure blood of plants." Draco said, smoothing the soil carefully with a finger.

"I always thought you hated herbology." Harry said, looking the boy over with distaste and distrust.

"I may not be Longbottom, who even the slug like plants he takes care of think he's ugly, but I do know a thing or two about the more elegant and important flowers out there." Draco said and shifted a bit as he set the plant on a windowsill that Harry wasn't entirely sure had been there before.

"You know, you're an ass." Harry said as he flopped down on one of the chairs.

"Yes, well you're an ignorant moron." Mafloy pointed out conjuring a bit of water from the tip of his wand to water the plant. "Have you done a blood bond with it?"

"That's a redundancy, and no, I haven't. What do you mean bond?" Harry asked, watching as Malfoy tutted a bit and then sat down across from him.

"You're stupidity astounds, it really does. Ignorance is a choice, being moronic is just how you're born." He looked over at the small plotted plant and frowned. "And a bond, like the one we took, is a way of insuring a certain amount of attention. To tone it down for someone with your intelligence levels, when you do a body binding charm, the whole body is pulled together. The arms cannot move from the torso. In a bonding ceremony there's a certain amount of promise to the same. If you expect to be able to 'protect me as best you can' or what ever rubbish McGonagall said, you can't very well be three countries away and intoxicated." Malfoy sighed and looked around the room. "These colors are repulsive."

"I was just thinking it looked like someone murdered St. Valentine."

"Yes well I think this room has a few more charms that we weren't told about. I've heard of this sort of room before. A ready room." Malfoy said looking out the window.

"Like the room of requirement." Harry asked, assuming that by now Malfoy knew the name of the room. After all, he had investigated it enough during Umbridge's rule, and used it to let in death eaters.

"Perhaps, though I doubt it's the same. The room seems to have… a changing air to it." Malfoy said, stopping as if puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, traditionally red is used as a color of danger, it's also the same in nature, it increases passions and causes people to act more aggressively, but conversely white has a calming and purifying effect."

"What's your point Malfoy?" Harry asked after he paused, noting he'd never actually had a conversation with boy that had lasted this long before.

"My point is that the color combination suggests someone, or the room itself, wants us to act both passionate and relaxed. I assume that these colors would be the best way to release subconscious tensions without triggering full on fights."

"That sounds awfully psychological." Harry muttered.

"Yes well muggles aren't the only ones who note color and its effects on people and objects. Haven't you ever noticed that the patronus is white? Or that the color of the dorms reflects the type of people inside them?" Malfoy asked.

"How so?"

"I've already explained red to you, but blue is calm, almost depressing when it's darkest, green is a healing and comforting color, and a callusing color, and of course there's yellow and black, happy and submissive respectively." Malfoy snorted. "The houses each take a color that would be comforting to those who reside with in them. You Gryffindor Geeks are hot blooded and often feel superior, gold. We Slytherin are cooler, more willing to come in second should it suite our purposes, because everything is give and take. Ravenclaw is deep, thinking and often too involved in their books to care, but to smart to loose, and Hufflepuffs are easily manipulated fools."

"You said before to watch out for Hufflepuff." Harry said, changing the subject so that he could digest the information a bit better.

"And I stand by it." Malfoy said, his eyes finally finding Potter's.

"Why?"

"You wouldn't believe me, and I don't need to tell you any more. I'm hoping that if all goes well, we'll be able to break this bond and I can go on with my life without you."

"Try me." Harry said.

Malfoy paused for a moment and held his hand out to Harry. Harry paused looking over the extended hand and then looked back to Malfoy.

"You still can't except my hand can you?" Malfoy sighed, putting his hand back on the chair. "If you can't even trust me enough to shake my hand, you won't trust me in what I have to say, and that is all there is to it."

Harry opened his mouth, as if to protest but then stopped.

"Why do you hate me?" He asked after a moment.

"I've never hated you." Malfoy sighed, sounding for all the world defeated.

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((Finally! Harry and Draco are interacting! Review! The prize this time is a an animagus McGonagall doll! Pull off her hat and she transforms into a cat!))


	5. Getting to Know You

**Getting to Know You**

((Purrs at more reviewers! Thank you for being vocal! I love having feedback!))

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'_I've never hated you.'_ The words ran through Harry's head again. They didn't make sense.

"Merlin's beard Potter, the food is already dead, there's no point in torturing it further." Malfoy sighed looking up from his own dinner. Harry looked down at his plate, realizing he had cut and mashed and mangled what was there until there was very little left that looked like food.

"Sorry." He grumbled pushing the plate away. He had already eaten with Hermione and Ron in the Great Hall and hadn't been expecting a second dinner. He didn't think about the house elves bringing up the food for the two of them, though it must have been standard procedure with such rooms. "Ah, have you taken your potions?"

"I don't know, am I bleeding all over the table? Or can you not tell around the massacre on your plate?" Malfoy sneered and Harry shook his head. Hermione and Ron were coming by later, to keep him company and help him work on homework. And to figure out a story for why he wasn't staying in his old rooms or entering the common room through the Fat Lady.

"I assume you've already eaten." Malfoy said after a moment. He picked up his napkin and dabbed it on his face before setting it on top of the food that remained on his own plate. "Very well."

He rose and started towards Potter.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked looking the other over with object horror.

"I assumed you had some homework that might be at least a bit interesting. Or would you rather I sit around here and darn your socks like a good wife?" He sneered picking up the bag and emptying the contents out on the table, which had been cleared while Harry wasn't looking.

Things like that seemed to happen in the room. The furniture had gotten less soft, the reds had died down to a more manageable color, the beds had moved further apart, all of it barely noticeable except to someone who was looking for it.

"Most people ask before they go through others things." Harry growled, moving over to collect some of the fallen papers and loose quills.

"Most people don't let stay kneazles live in their rutsacks either, but you don't see me complaining about it." Malfoy said, rummaging through the books until he found potions. He took the book with him and sat down on the small couch, one hand on a note that Harry had written to Ron during an earlier class, expressing his dismay at living with Malfoy.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked again for the second time in as many minutes.

"Your homework." Malfoy said, flicking his wand at a quill and piece of blank parchment he had found somewhere. Probably produced by the room, Harry thought, feeling less than hospitable to it at the moment.

"I need to learn those things, and I doubt Slughorn will miss the fact that I'm not writing my own papers." Harry snarled moving closer to Malfoy to snatch back the book. He watched the blond git sigh, and with another flick of his wand, watched the parchment right itself showing Harry's handwriting pouring out of the quill as it span across the page.

"You might find you understand the subject better after you read the assignment." Malfoy said, never looking up from the book. Harry's eyes darted to the top of the page, ready to tell Malfoy he was being a git and that none of it made any sense, but after the first paragraph he found himself sitting down, dragging the parchment on his own lap to read it better.

"You'll smear the ink." Malfoy said when Harry adjusted the paper suddenly, "Though I suppose it would make it look more authentic. That is if anyone even cares about authentic around deciphering your chicken scratch." He said. Harry looked up from the page to comment when there was a sudden interruption.

"Fore sooth, at yonder passage door, tis a couple, of flame and bushy hair." The portrait of the young couple said, appearing inside a picture in the room. "Am I to let the lovers in? Or are you two indisposed?"

"Let them in." Harry said quickly, trying _not_ to imagine how the young man who was speaking would phrase 'indisposed' to his best mates.

"As ye see fit." The woman giggled and took her lover by the hand, rushing them off through paintings.

"Nauseating." Malfoy muttered, and Harry thought he'd have to agree. "And now I suppose you're going to keep me from my simple joys of potions too? Oh don't give me that look, you know the ginger and girl genius would never approve. I'll just go to our bed room. Maybe the blasted room will give me something interesting to read."

Harry paused for a second, a small wash of guilt moving through him as he realized he was kicking Malfoy out of their combined living area, but then the anger at the prat making fun of his friends kicked his mind back towards sane.

"Harry," Ron grinned walking into the room and looking around. "Nice place you got here."

"The rooms are good, but the company is lousy." Harry agreed and winced as a sharp pain flew up his arm. It was worse than when he and Malfoy had been arguing together.

'_No worse than you would a friend.'_ Echoed through his head, and he realized he would never talk about his friends behind their backs.

"But lets not talk about that. How's your plant going Mione?"

"Oh, well enough. It's sprouted, but that's not surprising. They're suppose to germinate very quickly and grow very slowly." Harry cast an eye over at his own plant that was sitting ideally in the window sill. "I think it might actually be a very interesting assignment. Most of taking care of the plant is talking to it. Of course there's worrying about its sun, its water, and if you blood bond it, you have to keep that up once a week until it blooms, but other wise they're really rather interesting. The sprout shoot is the most amazing emerald green on mine, and Neville's was blue! The blood bonded plants take after their owner, though I don't know why Neville's was blue except that he said it was very rare for a plant to be such a color, and maybe it was trying to please him."

Harry smiled, letting Hermione go on as he started in on the Astronomy homework.

"Where is the git anyway?" Ron asked after they had settled into an amiable quiet so that they could study.

"In the bedroom." Harry said, ignoring the slight tingle at his finger tips, saying he normally would have corrected someone for saying something like that about a friend.

"How's he been Harry? Has he said anything else to you? About Hufflepuffs?" Hermione asked.

"He… He offered I think but I guess I did something wrong." Harry said after a moment's thought.

"I doubt it, prolly just teasing you to be the prat he is." Ron put in.

"No I don't think so. He offered me his hand, like he did the first day on the train, and I just looked at him. He says I don't trust him as a person, so why would I trust news from him I don't want to hear?"

"He has a point Harry. In past cases like this you've refused good evidence because you didn't like the person." Hermione said, cutting through Ron's protests. "He's smarter than he lets on."

"If by smarter you mean more of a manipulative prat than I agree." Ron sorted, and Harry winced as his hand vibrated again, rather unpleasantly.

"Can we not talk about him anymore?"

"One thing though Harry, how did you get use of this room? I mean, to only be available to two people, and not even allow others in with a password, some sort of magic must have been done." Hermione said, setting her quill down to take in everything Harry would offer, including facial expressions that he didn't know he had, but he was sure she would study.

"We, ah, bonded." Harry said and Ron made an awful face.

"You can't tell me you like the bloke now?" He grumbled and Harry shook his head fervently.

"Not like that, we were magically bonded. We both made swore to protect and be nice to each other." Harry grumbled.

"Interesting." Hermione mumbled, looking Harry over. "And what happens when you don't? I'm assuming that you and Malfoy haven't been getting on, from the way you tell it."

"I hurt. And spells bounce back at me, like when Ron broke his wand."

"Harry! You tried to attack him when you were under a bond of protection without knowing the rules!"

"He called you a mudblood!" Harry yelled, rising to his feet. Hermione took a moment to collect herself before setting a hand on Harry's leg and pressing him back down to the chair.

"As wonderful as it is for you to protect me, that was bloody well a stupid thing to do." Hermione pointed out. "While it's not an unbreakable vow, bonds aren't something to take lightly. You might have ended up ripped out of the bond, which can be very painful, even deadly."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, trying to get control of himself.

"Depending on what you promised and what you do to break that promise an amount of pain, in your case, equal to the broken word, will be inflicted on you. A word against him might sting you like it would sting him to hear it; a rant might make you hurt all over. And who knows what that curse might have done!" She said, her voice breaking at the last.

"It just rebounded." Harry grumbled.

"Probably because it was nothing that couldn't be fixed quickly with a charm, nothing you meant to be permanent, I assume, just to take out your frustration. But if you had been trying to disfigure him, you might have ended up in massive amounts of pain, and if you had been trying to out right hurt him the bond might have been ripped up, which I understand is worse than a crucio, supposedly it's like the ripping of your soul."

"I suppose I should have talked to you first." Harry said, looking properly abashed.

"Yeah, Mione knows everything." Ron put in, feeling a bit left out of the conversation.

"Just try to be more careful in the future, would you Harry?" Hermione pleaded.

"Right. I promise." Harry sighed. He thought about telling them that it hurt when they insulted Malfoy, and would they please not do it, but that wasn't right. It only hurt when he didn't defend the boy, and he saw no need to point that out.

"I'm awfully hungry." Ron muttered and Harry turned expectantly to the table, but nothing produced itself.

"Honeslty Ron, you just had a half dozen chocolate frogs before we left! And the walk is all of three feet." Hermione sighed. Harry continued to look at the table.

"I'm hungry too." He said, and watched as a small chocolate mouse poofed into existence. "This room is bloody weird."

"What do you-Oh… Even the room of Requirement didn't act that way." Hermione said, walking over to examine the mouse. "Do you suppose it came from the kitchens?"

"I don't know, I don't even know if I like that it happens yet." Harry grumbled going over to hand the bowl off to Ron.

"He really ought to be on a diet." Hermione pointed out, a bit disapproving.

"I think the room is brilliant. Can you ask for some exploding snaps? Or a chess game?"

Harry paused, thinking it might be nice to sit down and play a game of chess with Ron here, and before he had finished the thought a chessboard and coffee table appeared in the middle of the room.

"Bloody hell, watch it, you nearly set that on my foot!" Ron said, moving back and then sitting down with his mouse.

"That is… a bit disconcerting." Hermione agreed, looking at the portraits around the room, as if maybe they were the ones doing it. Harry followed her eyes before moving to sit down next to Ron.

"Pawn to E4."

"Pawn to A4."

Harry looked up as Ron contemplated the opening moves and saw Draco moving quietly out of the bedroom. He smirked, thinking that the boy might have been stealthy if he weren't so focused on sneaking. He was creeping along the far wall where the windows and dinning table were looking like some sleuth from a bad movie.

"Would you like to join us?" He asked, and Malfoy's eyes narrowed as he dropped his sneaking posture.

"Just on my way to the lou." He explained, his eyes casting around the room and Ron swore as the table disappeared with the chess game.

"Bloody hell, what'd ya do that for?" He grumbled looking up at Malfoy.

"I didn't very well mean to. I just thought it was an ugly table." Malfoy muttered before continuing on to the bathroom.

"Well that's brilliant. I suppose you could make a more appealing table?" Ron asked, oblivious to the issues that were running through Harry's head. Fights in this room could be very dangerous if they wanted to throw things at each other.

"Ah, right." He grumbled, thinking about a table that might please Malfoy. A highly ornate black and green table appeared, the wizards chess game was on it as well, looking undisturbed though the colors of the pieces were now silver and green against red and gold.

"Making me play Slytherin? Awful rotten of you." Ron grumbled before moving his next piece.

"You should still be doing homework!" Hermione snarled, grabbing the bowl of half eaten mouse from Ron and setting it on the kitchen table. Harry furrowed his eyes when he watched it poof out of existence. He still couldn't understand the rules of the room.

"Sweet Salazar." Malfoy muttered walking back into the room, "That has got to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen."

"Well I give up, you bloody well make it then." Harry grumbled.

"Fine." Malfoy said and the table started contorting, lifting up on spindling legs and changing to a light brown color, with a gold trim around it. It curved gently, looking rather soft and elegant as it finally solidified, the center of it blanching out until it was glass with a mirror under it. Malfoy nodded. "Much better." Before heading off into the bedrooms again.

"He's got nice taste." Ron pointed out, pulling a cousin off the couch to sit on. "I'll give the git that much."

Harry nodded, looking over the sleek, curving table. He wouldn't have pictured the boy would like something so… elegant, and so honestly attractive.

"Oye! You're move."

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((Today's prize for reviewing is a Slytherin VS Gryffindor chess set!))


	6. Sleeping with You

**Sleeping with You**

((Hey all, sorry if I haven't replied to reviews yet and that this one is short. Hectic week/end, lots of homework... My roommate tried to burn down the dorm today too. Yeah, it's been one of those, but you're not here for that. You want Drarry. Sorry the name's a tease! ))

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"I take it they left?" Malfoy asked when Harry walked into the bedroom. Harry nodded, going through the dresser and pulling out a set of pajamas, before heading out of the room again. "Oh for the love of Merlin, it's not like I've never seen a man naked Potter. I played quiddich just like you, so just pretend we're roommates, or in the locker room if you prefer."

Harry paused, eyeing Malfoy, but the boy had gone back to reading a book on his bed. The candle near him was flickering, and Harry thought it would have been better if the room were darker for him to change in.

The lights dropped down to next to nothing.

"Who'd've thought we had a prude hero." Malfoy sighed, and Harry heard the book closing. "Oh do get on with it, I'd like to finish this chapter."

Nodding, though afterwards he didn't know why he'd done that, Harry quickly changed into his night clothes, and the lights turned back up.

"Are you that quick with everything?" Malfoy sneered, opening his book again.

"How come you don't get affected the same way I do?" Harry asked, ignoring the question.

"You and I have two very different mannerisms." Malfoy said, sighing and setting the book aside while muttering something like 'Never gonna finish this chapter'. "While you Gryffindorks express your affections through all of your touchy-feely non-sense, we Slytherins tend to be more subtle about it."

"You mean you insult each other." Harry grumbled as he sat down on his own bed.

"Yes and no. You see, I might call you an insufferable moron, but if I'm saying it straight to you, I might be using it as a term of affections."

"How could that ever be affectionate?"

"Well, I might like the way that you're clueless about so many aspects outside of your own life. The way you're so oblivious it's almost quaint." Malfoy said, and his eyes betrayed him for a moment, letting Harry see that the boy meant those words. But quickly the mask was back in place. "You know you have a friend in a Slytherin when they insult you to your face. We're not stupid, we know the most dangerous place to be is by someone's side. We slither our way close to those we hate the most and destroy them from the inside out. If we just call each other names along the hall, it's most likely just a friendly game."

"I've never heard any of your friends call you that."

"They… respect me more than they're my friends." Malfoy said after a moment. "Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to finish this book."

"What are you reading?" Harry asked, trying to make conversation. It was odd to be in this new room, with a new bed and a new roommate.

"A book on defensive potions." Malfoy muttered, his nose back in the book.

"Defensive potions?"

"Yes, like stone skin, or magic dampening potions."

"I've never heard of those." Harry muttered.

"No you wouldn't have, would you? All the school really teaches you about is controlling your magic with words. Potion making is one of the older forms of magic and yet is often disregarded as antiquated, because it may take months to brew good potions. But some potions are worth the wait. Like this one, it's a potion that acts like a shield charm, except that when magic comes at you, it absorbs the magic instead of refracting it, making you the new possessor of that amount of strength."

"I don't know… That sounds fairly dark." Harry muttered.

"Well it doesn't create a siphon… though with a few modifications perhaps it could… but the point is, if you were an Auror wouldn't it be useful to be able to wear your opponent down by just standing there and letting them attack you?" Malfoy asked, sliding his nose out of the book for a moment.

"I… I guess, but it doesn't seem very sporting." Harry muttered.

"You-Know-Who wasn't a very sporting type either." Malfoy said, turning back to the book. Harry tried conversation a few more times before he gave up, rolling over and going to sleep.

* * *

"Do you always snore so?" Malfoy grumbled at breakfast, rubbing his reddened right cheek. It had been time to wake up, but Harry was having none of it, and had punched the blonde boy in his sleep.

"Donno, most of the time there's a perpetual silencing charm on my bed. You know, the one forth years love teaching first years. I just have had it for so long I forgot to cast on this bed." Harry grumbled, digging into his eggs.

"And your hair! I thought it was a mess at breakfast in the Great Hall, what do you do, loan it out at night to a rabid crupp?"

"Can you shut up and let me eat?"

"Could you shut up when I was trying to read?" Malfoy pointed out before going back to his own food.

* * *

"Oh Harry, is it true?" Another fourth year, Harry assumed, asked him.

"Er…" He muttered looking around to spot Ron.

"Yes it's all true." Ron said, making his way through the crowd of children.

"What's true?" Harry whispered fiercely into the red head's ear.

"Well we didn't have time to make up a cover story last night, and when you didn't show up to breakfast we had to make something up fast. What would you have said?"

"You didn't tell them I'm a werewolf did you!" Harry hissed back to Ron, who pondered the idea.

"That's not bad, no we said you were doing animagus training and needed to be alone whenever possible." Ron muttered before turning back to the younger students and shooing them on.

"Oh, well, thank Hermione for me." Harry said, straightening as the hoards of disappointed children meandered off.

"What makes you think Mione thought of it?" Ron asked, affronted.

"Did you?"

"I recon I did. I was just talking about how great it'd be to be an owl when the first person asked and Mione said animangus." Ron said, puffing his chest out. Harry smirked a bit, but tried to hide his amusement from his best friend.

"Right, well then are you rea—"

"Harry! Harry is it true?" A boy in his year that Harry knew he should be able to name came up to him.

"Smith." Ron said with a snarl in his voice. That was right, Zacharias Smith, he had been part of D.A. but Harry was sure he'd heard people talking about how Smith had fled the battle of Hogwarts.

"Yeah, so?" Harry asked, not feeling particularly hospitable. He was saving his amiable spirit for putting up with Malfoy, and he could only guess how long he'd need it for.

"That's just brilliant Harry, really it is. Is McGonagall teaching you? Could you get her to teach me too? We used to have some animagus blood in us, we Smiths did." Smith asked, sidling up to Harry's side.

"I can't really talk about it." Harry muttered, trying to get away from the boy subtly.

"Oh, that's a shame, really, I did want to learn. But you know, we haven't seen very much of each other this year, you and I." Smith said.

"Honestly I've been a bit busy."

"Yes well, no reason not to make plans now is there?"

"Ah… any particular reason?" Harry asked, he turned as Smith stopped in his tracks.

"Look, I haven't always been a great bloke. I didn't pull my share of the weight and I've always been a doubting Thomas, but I want to fix that. I want to be a better person." Smith said. "I want to join the Aurors after school, see if I can make up for my past."

Harry felt his heart soften to the boy before nodding to him. Smith's face lit up as he hurried after Harry.

"So what would you like my help with." Harry asked.

"Well… I wanted to learn to be an animagus, but if you can't help me with that, some more of what we learned in the D.A. would be brilliant."

"Harry, do you remember what M—"

"Mrs. Weasely? No what did she say? To always give people second chances, especially when we have no good reason why not to?" Harry asked. Ron frowned and shook his head.

"Something like that." He grumbled.

"Besides, Mrs. Weasely doesn't know everything that goes on." Harry continued, and Ron shook his head.

"I don't know mate, but… I guess."

"Didn't know Mrs. Weasely was so much a part of your life at Hogwarts." Smith muttered, before shrugging. "Right, well I have Astronomy tonight, so maybe tomorrow, we can meet in the Room of Requirements?"

Harry grinned a bit and nodded. "Yeah, sounds like a plan." He watched the boy walk away and sighed as Ron turned to him, mouth open already with objections.

"Mate, I know I'm the last one who would stand up for Mafloy, but I think you're just going out of your way to piss him off." Ron grumbled.

"Aww, lay off Ron. I just wanna help Smith out. Everyone needs a second chance."

"Yes, well, what about Malfoy?"

"He's not exactly everyone now is he." Harry grumbled. "Come on, lets get to class."

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((Well everyone, hope you're enjoying it. Today's reviewing prize is the rabid crupp that lives in Harry's hair.))


	7. Assumptions Corrected 1

**Assumptions Corrected (1)**

((As an apology for being so slow and then giving a short chapter there is a tiny bit of fanservice in here... see if you can find it!))

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The rest of the day gone fairly badly after the conversation with Smith, and by the time Harry was done with classes he was about ready to scream. As it was he stormed into his new suite and charged into the bathroom to remove dragon dung from his face. As soon as he opened the door, however, the was hit in the face with an almost solid wall of steam.

"Godrick!" Harry cursed, stepping back and waving the steam off of him. It smelled slightly perfumed and had a sort of heady aroma.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't let all the hot air out." He heard a drawl coming from the bathroom. A moment later a practically pink Malfoy stood in the door with a towel draped haphazardly around his waist. "Ever heard of knocking, Potter?"

"Sorry." The boy muttered, dropping his face to his feet with a blush. He hadn't even thought of walking in on Malfoy, and apparently 'sorry' wasn't the response Malfoy had expected, because it took him a moment to come up with something else to say.

"Well… just knock next time, I wouldn't want to affront your delicate sensibilities with my nudity. I don't think you could handle that much perfection anyway." The boy added as an after thought, as though he remembered he hadn't been rude enough in the first sentence.

"I will." Harry muttered. "Are you done?"

"I suppose, the bath will probably be too cold now anyway, I'll just let the water out." Malfoy muttered turning back to the bathroom. Harry kept his eyes on his feet until the boy passed him again. "Honestly Potter, you act like a virgin."

Potter flushed again, but knew any comeback would only sting him. He didn't lie to friends, nor make fun of them. Instead he moved into the bathroom and washed his face, choking on the steam.

"Merlin Malfoy! Were you trying to steam yourself?" Harry asked, as he exited the bathroom, his own face reddened from the temperature even after such a short time.

"Hardly." The boy snorted, and Harry looked up to find the blond laid out on the couch with the towel laid out on his lap. He was suddenly glad for the temperature in the bathroom or he would have flushed again.

He had been coming to the realization that he was gay over the past few months, but he wasn't sure he wanted to admit it to himself. The fact that he couldn't kiss Ginny or even Cho had been nagging at his mind, as well as the fact that he would rather watch Cormac between searching for the snitch than any girl on either team. Of course, he had never acted on the attraction, both because he was rather uncertain of it, and because Cormac was a total wanker.

All that aside, even if he wasn't gay he would have had to admit that Malfoy had a stunning body, smooth and hairless, well toned (perhaps he had been working out under Voldemorts regime?), smooth with all the right lines…

"See something you like?" Malfoy drawled, and Harry snapped his eyes away.

"Not used to people waltzing around half naked and just laying themselves where the please." Harry grumbled. "Do you often just walk around in the nude?"

"Would you object if I said I did?" Malfoy said, and the sneer in his voice almost confused Harry more than his inability to answer. "As it is, I don't except for in my own private quarters, but as these appear to be our private quarters I see no reason to be formal."

"Would you please put on cloths Malfoy?" Harry grumbled.

"Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?" The boy asked with a grin in his voice, but Harry couldn't tell if it was on his face or not. He was too busy staring at a very interesting portrait on the walls.

"Yes." He muttered, nearly under his breath.

"What was that?" The blonde asked sitting up a bit, and Harry most defiantly did not let his eyes waver away from the portrait to see if the towel had fallen any lower.

"Yes." Harry snarled. He closed his eyes now, determined that if his eyes wouldn't obey him they would be punished.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Malfoy sneered and Harry heard the couch sigh a bit as the boy stood up, the soft padding of bare feet on carpet, and then a pause. Harry opened his eyes to see what had made the boy stop, maybe there was a spider or something that needed taking care of? Instead it was just Malfoy fiddling with the door, as if it didn't want to open. Harry's eyes watched as a drop of water fell down that too blond hair, across the slim back, down across the arches of the spine, and disappeared right where the towel blocked his view. With a sudden thud the door gave and Malfoy stumbled into the room, snarling something about how the magic was lousy.

Harry sighed and collapsed on a chair, his eyes moving over to the sofa that the blonde had just occupied. There were a few wet marks on the fabric, one where his hair had been lying, one along where his arms were and there… a perfect little indent of hi-

"I should be doing homework." Harry snarled out loud and opened up his bag.

"Anything interesting?" Malfoy asked, walking back into the room, clad only in a pair of plain black slacks that probably cost a small fortune.

"Planning on doing my homework again for me?" Harry asked, trying to sneer it, but falling short. The blonde gave a small shrug and sat back down on the couch.

"Not as if I have any better things to do." The boy said, summoning the tome in Harry's hand with a flick of his wand. Come to think of it, he had been carrying his wand even in the bathroom. It was odd too, a darker color than the one Harry had borrowed and still hadn't given back. It didn't seem to match the boy as well...

"Why are you here Malfoy?" Harry asked with a sigh. "Shouldn't you be hiding out in your manor with house elves to wait on you and half the galleons in Gringotts at your disposal?"

The blonde looked the boy over with wary grey eyes, as if studying a statue he was considering buying. Finally he sighed.

"The truth?"

"Do you even know how to tell the truth Malfoy?" Harry grumbled, ignoring the twinge in his arm. He watched as Malfoy's face contorted in that familiar way, the way that said he had lost his composure and was going to throw a tantrum.

"Despite what you might think, Potter," He spat the name as if it was filth, worse than a curse, "My family life is not all gumdrops and roses. You've met my father; do you really think he's the type for sit down meals and family Christmases? Do you think he's the kind of man who tolerates any failure, from a bit of lint on a robe to an E on a test? Where every bit of life is uniformed and patterned until you pray for anything that will make life more bearable? Do you think it was _fun_ having He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a house guest? That I like giant serpents running around the owlry eating up my last source of compan—" Malfoy broke off, his face flushed once more and his hair dangling in front of his eyes. He snarled and turned his head. "Get a grip Potter, not everyone had it as good as you did."

Harry frowned, watched as Malfoy turned away, stalking back into the bedroom and slamming the door.

He'd always assumed Malfoy had everything he'd always wanted. A mother and father who loved him, a pleasant childhood, good friends… Was any of that even true?

Harry shook his head. Malfoy was just a spoiled git and he was exaggerating. But the sharp pain that started at his toes and lanced up his body, shaking him till he dropped off the chair and clutched at his ribs to hold himself together, that pain seemed to disagree. Harry had thought a lot of nasty things about Ron, but always there had been a grain of truth in them… Did that mean?

When the pain abated Harry wiped his forehead and pulled himself back up into the chair. Ignoring the situation at hand he started in on his homework.

* * *

The pop signaled that food had arrived. Harry wondered if it was the same food they were having in the Great Hall. Setting his books aside he rose up and moved over to the table. He sat down and started preparing a plate, then frowned. Walking over to the door he knocked on it gently.

"Malfoy?" He asked. "Dinner."

A moment passed and there was no answer.

"Just because you're embarrassed doesn't—" A soft moan interrupted is thought and Harry threw the door open. Malfoy was lying on the floor and blood was seeping up from cuts all over his body. "What happened!"

"P-Potions…" Malfoy managed between his tiny shuttering gasps for air. Harry hurried to the bedside table that Malfoy kept the assortment of potions in and grabbed them all, hurrying back to the other boy's side. He put the boy's head on his lap so that he could swallow before he popped the potions open one at a time and poured them down his throat.

"What the fuck Malfoy?" Harry asked, the last potion was now emptied and the boy, while still covered in blood, was looking better.

"Memory curse." Malfoy muttered again, trying to get up, but falling back onto Harry's knees. He ran a weak hand through his blonde hair. "More vivid the memories, the faster it takes place."

"Who cast this on you?" Harry asked, looking the boy over.

"You know who." Malfoy muttered, and at first Harry was confused. After a second it clicked, You-Know-Who, Voldemort.

"That's impossible, he's dead." Harry grumbled. Malfoy snorted and held out his left forearm. There was a section of skin that was silver compared to the other pale skin, a scar.

"Why… do you think… no one removes the mark?" The boy sneered.

"That's impossible, after Voldemort-" here Draco flinched "died the mark was reduced to nothing more than a scar."

"Do you think… everything the Dark Lord did… ended when he died? Why… do you think Kakaroff and Snape never removed their marks? Even when he's dead the mark is set to kill us in a painful manner if it were ever removed. Only the fact that he is actually dead is why I'm alive." Malfoy sighed and managed to get himself sitting. He cast a quick scourgify on the floor before the blood stain sat in and looked his pants over. "Ruined."

"You knew this and still tried to remove the mark?" Harry asked, feeling a bit astounded at the boy's audacity. He didn't think Malfoy had it in him. Turns out, he didn't.

"My father removed it at the same time he declared me an orphan." Malfoy grumbled, getting to his knees.

"What?"

"I was disowned you idiot. My father tried to kill me. He's gone a bit mad; a stint in Azkaban will do that to you. He came home and started cursing everything in sight, but he saved his special hatred for me. He holds me personally accountable for the fall of the Dark Lord." Malfoy grumbled, rising up to his feet now. He caught a bed poster (had they always been that tall?) for support as he started to walk away from the flabbergasted brunette.

"I- I'm-"

"Save it Potter, I didn't tell you to get your pity. I told you so that next time you choose to upset me, you would know enough to come save me before I spend hours laying on floor, in too much pain to scream." Draco snarled and slowly hobbled his way out of the room.

* * *

Dinner… was silent. Harry couldn't look up from his food, and every time he tried his eyes only got as far as a shivering fork and knife sawing weekly at a bit of food. He dropped his eyes back down to his own plate.

"It wasn't all roses for me either." Harry said after a few moments. He heard Malfoy snort, as he had expected, but persisted. "I mean, things since the war have been pretty shitty, it's been funeral after funeral and then interviews. I had to leave in the middle of Fred's funeral because the press was being too loud."

He looked up to see if Malfoy was going to interject, but the blonde seemed focused on his food instead of a confrontation.

"Even before the war… Malfoy, I'm going to tell you something very few people know, so if it gets out, I'll know it was you who leaked it." Harry said, feeling the need to threaten the boy, even if he was sharing the story to even the score. "I don't know what kind of life you think I lived before I became a part of the wizarding world, but it wasn't a good one. Most of my life I lived in a closet, smaller than the broom cupboards here, the muggles I lived with, my aunt, uncle, and cousin, they hated magic the same way Voldemort hated muggles. I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid practically abducted me on my birthday. I didn't even know who I was, who I was suppose to be, how my parents died until then."

He looked up again then, seeing if Malfoy had anything to say to him. But the blonde was still examining his food, as if it held the answers to the mysteries of life.

"I was the muggle equivalent to a house elf in that house, but even house elves get treated better than I did. Those tent sized clothes I was always wearing were the only clothes I was allowed, hand me downs from my cousin. They didn't spare any money to cloth me, and my Aunt only got me my glasses because the school was becoming suspicious. Hell, even feeding me was too much work for them most of the time, and I was the one doing the majority of the cooking. I just… thought you should know."

Harry looked up again, and saw Draco's eyes were filled with… furry.

"Listen Potter, I didn't tell you that so we could get in a pissing match." He snarled, his hand banging the table, but the thump was weak. "I don't care who had it worse, whose family was more awful, or who caught the most snitches. Everything is _not_ a competition Potter."

"That's rich! Coming from you." Harry snarled, standing up and fuming. "You always held yourself up to me, always trying to beat me and humiliate me. Always shoving it in my face when you out did me in any little thing!"

"Potter I was a straight O student. If you think I shoved everything in your face, you're sorely mistaken. Had I done that, you never would have gotten away from my essays." Draco snarled, standing up as well. "We competed it Quiddich, you know, the game? Where it's all about competition?" He snorted and limped around the table, looking Potter in the eyes. "You'll never get it."

With that the blonde hobbled off, clutching at the wall as he moved to the bedroom, his back straight and chin high all the while.


	8. Dreaming of You?

**Dreaming of You?**

((I seem to be updating on Sunday nights. Sorry it's only been once a week guys. It's been hard to get time to sit down and write anything that isn't a paper for school. I love the reviews and I hope you keep them coming. I really wanna know what you think of this one.))

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Harry went to bed later, his mind filled with thoughts of what the other boy had said. Had he simply imagined the rivalry? He didn't think so… but it was possible he'd exaggerated it. How often had Ron and Hermione told him he was being ridiculous when he snuck out to stalk Draco? How often had he started to feel the same way? He couldn't count the times… couldn't remember them all. With a sigh he closed his eyes at last and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

His dreams were a fever pitch. Colors whirled and sounds twisted before settling in on scenes from the Battle of Hogwarts, but the tide of the battle was against them, and they were losing. He watched Fred die, George die, Ron and Hermione died, and he screamed his protests but he couldn't help them. He wasn't there, he was dead and now dementors were stalking his spirit, looking to devour all that was left of him. He screamed, his voice breaking and suddenly everything was dark. There was warmth surrounding him, someone was stroking back his hair, and slowly the darkness faded away into another dream… He keened nuzzling into the hands that were stroking him, pushing himself against a hot body. In his mind he was in the room, but Malfoy was in his bed, stroking his hair. He felt a deep sound of appreciation well up from his stomach and growled out of his lips. The boy smiled and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in closer, pressing himself flush against his body; wet kisses traced down his neck, soft fingers stroked his sides…

He opened his eyes, sweat beaded down his forehead and his heart was doing an impersonation of a rabbits with its shuttering fast beats. A hand was still carding through his hair, and he sighed, relaxing into the feeling. He curled up into the warmth, the arm around him convinced that waking up had just been a part of the strange dream.

"You're drooling on my night shirt." A dull drawl sounded, breaking his fantasy apart. Harry pushed back from the boy until he found himself spread out on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. It was white with little silver stars, he'd never noticed that before. A moment later a blonde head obstructed his view. "You know, I came over here to calm you with the express intention that you wouldn't hurt yourself by throwing yourself out of bed."

Harry found a comeback biting at his lips but there was something of concern in Malfoy's eyes, so he contained himself and started to pull himself back into the bed. It wasn't until then that he realized his… problem. Hopping onto the bed he pulled the blankets up over his lap and set a pillow on top of them. Draco watched with half amused eyes but didn't say anything. And he didn't move.

"Ah… I'm fine now." Harry muttered to the blonde who was still staring intently at him.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, his eyes running up and down Harry's body, half analyzing half… well something that Harry didn't trust himself to come to terms with.

"Quite." Harry muttered, he rubbed his eyes blearily, feeling sleep start to take him. He closed his eyes again, and only opened them enough that he could see through his lashes. Draco was nodding and stood up, and Harry noticed that the other boy was suffering from a similar… problem. He blushed, but it was mostly hidden by the blanket and his face in the pillow, but Draco didn't seem inclined to hide the situation, and in fact lay down on his own bed above the blankets so that it was prominent. Perhaps he thought Harry was asleep. Harry watched as those same slim hands that had just carded through his hair slid down the other boy's slim body, a finger teasing at the elastic of his silver and white pant bottoms before letting both hands slide in. Harry's eyes widened, opening fully for a moment and leaning over, forgetting about sleep. Draco spread his legs out further, his head back and eyes closed, his feet planted on the bed and he arched a bit, one of his hands moving lower… lower… He heard the boy whimper, gasp, moan… He couldn't take his eyes off the now writhing boy, his eyes following the hands and then… the boy's erection hit the air, proud and glistening in the moonlight (he was sure the window hadn't been there before) it was flushed next to his too white hands and red with the blood that was still hardening it but only one hand was wrapped around the base of that lovely cock, the other… Harry felt himself whimper as he saw Draco thrust off the bed, his other hand was behind him, a finger inside of him pushing and fucking him… Another involuntary moan was ripped from Harry's throat as he saw those blond lashes flick open, wide eyed the boy turned, his gaze now focused solely on Harry, and he came, in thick ribbons that coated his stomach and shirt. His moan was bit off, white teeth worrying his pale lips to a flushed pink. Harry felt hard enough to come by himself as he watched those blond lashes flutter shut, the lithe body relaxing in the bliss that flowed through his body…

* * *

The sun woke Harry. He jolted up with a start and swore, hurrying out of the room to find Malfoy sitting calmly at the breakfast table.

"Why didn't you wake me?" He yelled as he grabbed a biscuit and hurried towards the bathroom.

"Mainly because it's Saturday." Draco muttered, not looking up from his own breakfast. Harry paused, the biscuit already shoved half way down his throat and tried to come to terms with that. Malfoy was right though. He sighed and sat down at the table with a thump, the adrenal draining out of him.

"How did you sleep?" Draco asked, looking up from his breakfast and asking the question as if they had been on good terms. Harry flushed, thinking of Draco's body, pale and gleaming under the moon and his prick weeping before…

"Fine." Harry said quickly. "You?"

"Very well." Draco said and buttered his own biscuit. Harry studied the boy. Had that scene in his head, that vivid memory, just been a dream? He couldn't imagine Draco, when had he started thinking of him as Draco?, being perfectly stoic about such a thing. But then, he couldn't imagine Draco putting on a slow like that for him either. Shaking his head he went back to his breakfast. "Did you finish your homework last night?"

Harry paused thinking it over. No, he still had some left to do, so he said as much and Draco nodded offering to help him, which Harry quickly accepted. Breakfast passed in an amiable fashion and then they settled down to do homework, the book perched between the two and Draco reading back a bit before he was quickly able to answer most of Harry's questions. When he didn't know he admitted as much and asked if he could see the book to look for an answer. Harry generally complied, leaning over to read it as well until Draco would grin and tap a certain passage that held the clue.

"It's an inversion of the spinal cord here." He murmured, and watched as Harry wrote down the answer to the transfiguration question. Harry nodded and looked up, a smile on his face that was normally reserved only for Ron and Hermione, the one that said he understood and was happy to have figured it out. He blushed as he realized Draco's face was still very close to his own, still reading his answer before looking up. They were nearly nose to nose. Harry turned his head to the book and leaned a bit over Draco before he felt a soft breath on his ear. Draco hadn't moved.

"Draco?" He asked, moving back and watching the boy's pale face flush a bit, his mind tracking back to the way it had flushed last night, the way his body arched, and his throat wavered…

"We've been in here nearly all day. Your friends will be missing you." He said, closing the book and standing up. Harry felt the flush on his face drop away and he nodded almost sullenly. It must have been a dream, it was only his imagination. Draco was just trying to show him that they could get along, without competing. Harry nearly jumped when he heard a tapping on the window. An owl. Hurrying to it he opened the window and the bird perched on his shoulder, dropping the letter for him. He opened it and a small wash of guilt flooded him. It was Smith, asking to meet in the room of requirements at six. Casting a tempus he realized that the owl must have had a hard time finding him, as it was only a few moments to six.

"Thanks." He murmured, stroking the bird and sending it off. He hurried off to the room and pulled on a pair of Dudley's old clothes. He was half way out the door when he felt a spell hit him in the back. Whirling around with his wand raised he watched Draco's face break into a wider smirk. "What did you do?"

"Made you presentable." Draco said before walking leisurely back to his room. Harry looked himself over and realized the clothes had refitted themselves to fit him perfectly and seemed to have mended themselves. Shooting a confused look at the now closed bedroom door he hurried out of the room and down the halls to the Room of Requirement. The door was waiting for him, so he knew Smith was inside. Bursting into the room he sighed, seeing that Smith had already started practicing without him.

"_Expecto Patronum"_ The boy yelled, but nothing but a small puff of smoke drifted from the end of his wand. Harry grinned, sliding up behind the boy and correcting his stance. He felt the boy jump in his arms. "Harry! I didn't hear you come in."

"It's fine, now like this." He said moving the boy's arm and at the same time pulling a bit more weight onto his back foot to stabilize them. "And think of the happiest memory you can."

"Right…" Smith murmured and cast again. A small face formed at the end of the wand this time before disintegrating

"Happier, the happiest thing you can think of." Harry said, moving his hands lower to the boys hips and shifting them as well. With a nod he stepped back to make sure the position was correct, but as soon as he had the boy fell out of it. Smiling Harry shook his head and moved back behind the boy to help him again. A moment later a small badger threw itself out of the end of the boy's wand. It looked around the room as it came to terms with its existence before dissolving.

"I did it! I did it!" Smith yelled jumping up and down, still held in Harry's arms. Harry tried to let go but the boy turned and wrapped his arms around Harry's neck. "Thank you!"

"Ah, you're welcome." Harry laughed. Smith smiled and backed off.

"Sorry! Got a bit carried away." He laughed, rubbing his head. "What else can I learn?"

"Well, why don't we try something useful as well as fun. Piertotum Locomotor." He looked around the room, and smiled as a small cat statue formed out of the wall. Walking up to it he got into position. "_Piertotum Locomotor"_

With a small shiver the cat came to 'life' and stretched itself out. It looked around the room before licking its paw. Finally it went over to Smith and curled around his ankle before falling inanimate, its body attached to the floor once more.

"Now try, and see if you can't free yourself." Harry said, moving over to a chair. "This spell doesn't need a specific stance or wand movement, it's all about intent and intensity. And correct pronunciation of course."

He smiled as he watched Smith struggle with the spell, it wasn't that it was humorous to watch him fail, so much as it was humorous to watch him get flustered and change colors. Harry cast the spell again, letting the cat move to sit and face Smith, deciding that agitation wasn't helping him learn the way it helped Harry.

"_Piertotum Locomotor" _Smith shouted angrily and the cat gave a shiver, but then fell back into its stone form. Harry sighed as the boy snarled his frustration.

"You can't force magic to work." Harry said, coming up behind Smith again and setting his hand on the boy's waist. "Firstly, you have to relax, I can poke you here and feel your whole body reverberate, you're tighter than a bow string."

He waited patiently, saying nothing else until Smith started to relax. He had always found that the waist was where he could find most people's stress when it came to magic. Many witches and wizards kept their upper torso loose for casting, but they would stiffen up below in their frustrations.

"Now, what are you thinking of when you cast?" Harry asked, he started to pull his hands away but felt Smith tense as soon as he did. Shaking his head he maintained his position. The boy was like a child, needing to be held to relax. They would have to work on that later.

"I don't know, getting the damned thing to move." Smith grumbled casting again. Harry watched with a flicker of amusement as the light bounced off the cat entirely.

"Well, first thing first, it's a cat, so you should think about it as a cat. Cats don't like doing as their told, they have to be coaxed, it's a lot like this spell. You can't just tell the stone to get up and move, you have to tease it to."

"Teasing a stone? Isn't that a muggle expression?" Smith scowled. Harry smirked a bit, in a way, getting blood from a stone and teasing it did seem a bit similar.

"Something like that, but you need to relax. I don't think we'll get anywhere else tonight. Why don't we work on it tomorrow? Same time?" Harry asked. Smith frowned but consented and they headed out in different directions.

* * *

"How were…" Malfoy paused and gave a distinct grimace. "Your friends?"

"Fine." Harry muttered, not understanding the wave of guilt he felt washing over him about deceiving Malfoy. No pain though, he thought, and another wash of guilt hit him. It was very much like him to deceive his friends. What a way to find out about your own character. "Ah, what did you do while I was out?"

"Oh you know, typical things, arranged the flowers, wandered the garden, adjusted the portraits." Malfoy said with a mocking grin. It made Harry pause though, were those the sort of things Mrs. Malfoy did? He didn't know anything about what went on in Malfoy's house.

Harry nodded and walked over to the window. To his surprise the plant on the windowsill was not only germinated, but almost three inches tall and it was silver as moonlight.

"That's bloody weird." Harry muttered, reaching out to stroke the plant. It shivered a bit under his touch, but other than that seemed normal enough.

"Surprised it's still alive with the amount of care you put into it." Malfoy grumbled coming over. He made a small flick of his wand and a small shower rained down on the plant, barely harder than a mist really.

"I'd forgotten about it, it's been rather hectic." Harry said softly, nearly apologetically to the plant. He watched, amazed as the plant seemed to give a nod, but maybe that was just the tiny growth spurt that hit it, shooting it a bit higher in the air.

"Well it hasn't forgotten about you it seems." Draco said, stroking the plant gently. He looked out the window and nodded.

"Well Potter. I'm going to bed." The boy said, and Harry nodded, following him into the bedroom.

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((Um... So I'm running out of cookie intensives but I am looking for promps for stories. If anyone wants to throw one at me I'll see about writing it if you attach a good review. *No promises, just an incentive* I don't do M-preg though...))


	9. Tricking You

**Tricking You**

((Hello everyone! This week I'm also putting up the first of another story. It's one I've been working on in the background and I would love some feedback on it. It's another HP/DM so I hope you'll like it! As for this one, well... Harry's being slytherin, so there will be a bit of fun. Not as much as last chapter though, sorry.))

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Harry laid in bed, his eyes open as he listened to Malfoy's soft breathing in the bed next to his. He was contemplating casting a silencing charm on the bed, but couldn't figure out why he didn't want to do it. Last night had most certainly been a dream, there was no way that Malfoy would have comforted him like that, let alone…He shook his head. The only way to test that theory would be to fake a nightmare.

Harry paused, wondering how Slytherin of him it would be to do just that. But then, it was the sorting hat's first choice, why deny his nature? Now how did Ron say he acted? Right, he said he always knew when Harry was going to have a nightmare because he started mewling, and then it escalated to thrashing and yelling. But… how does one mewl exactly? He groaned and turned over his bed. He would just have to hope Malfoy couldn't figure it out.

He tossed slowly back and forth at first, groaning and muttering. He wasn't sure what all he did in nightmares, but his bed was normally torn apart and sometimes he was sore the next morning. As he continued his act he got progressively louder and more violent until, through his mostly closed eyes, he saw Malfoy start to stir. This was the moment of truth.

He continued rocking and moaning, his eyes heavy lidded as he watched the blonde roll out of bed. He stuttered for a moment, unsure of what to do, but Malfoy's arm wrapped around his waist and his mouth fell next to his ear.

"It's bloody well fine you prick." Was grumbled semi-soothingly in his ear. "They don't have you. You're fine and happy with that ginger bint."

Harry felt his face flush a bit and the urge to defend Ginny nearly ruined the act. But he bit his lips at the last moment and allowed himself to stop rocking and moaning. A soft hand carded through his hair, the same way he had felt it move last night, but there were no kisses, nothing to suggest than any of the rest of the night had been anything but a dream. He closed his eyes completely, sighing, not sure if he was disappointed or relieved.

"There you go." Malfoy muttered. "See, I'm sure you beat them, hero boy, you always do."

Harry's eyes shot open at that, but Malfoy was curled up against his chest, his eyes closed and he looked about ready to fall asleep again himself. Harry quickly closed his eyes, but couldn't resist peaking at the blonde.

The boy grumbled and moved further into Harry's chest. He heard a soft yawn as the boy breathed a heavy hot breath down his collar bone.

"Bloody well hope I wake up first again…" The boy muttered, and then Harry was sure, he was asleep again.

Well, that was not how he had thought the experiment would have turned out. He had rather thought the boy would have woken up and cursed him, or maybe, in the back of his mind, he was expecting a repeat show. Harry shook his head and peered down at the blonde. He certainly hadn't expected this… Now how was he suppose to get to sleep? If he went to the other boy's bed the morning would most certainly be awkward. Sighing, he decided he would have to just sleep like this.

He paused, shifting a bit and adjusting to the heat of another body next to his. Draco was warm, hot against his skin, where the top buttons of his nightshirt always came undone.

Closing his eyes, Harry slowly drifted off to sleep, ever aware of the soft rise and fall of another set of lungs against his own chest.

* * *

Harry did wake up after Draco, but he noticed now that the bed had an indent of where the boy had slept, and his shirt had a bit of a wet spot from drool. He grimaced at that and hurried to the shower, ignoring the blonde just as if he had no idea what had happened, just like he was supposed to.

He was about half way through his shower when the door opened and Draco walked in, intent to take a piss.

"What the fuck Malfoy!" Harry gasped, pulling the curtain even tighter closed than it had been.

"What? You're the only one allowed to walk in on a chap unannounced? I don't think so, and I have to pee." The boy grumbled and Harry heard the familiar sound of pants being fumbled with. He blushed and tried to return to washing his hair (it was far too long again, he would have to get it cut soon) but Draco, apparently didn't know how to be discrete. Every sound the boy made sounded magnified, to the point that Harry was flushing a deep red, and none of it was due to the temperature of the water, now mostly cold. The toilet finally flushed and the sink turned on and Harry started to relax as he heard the door open. Then the curtain was flung back and Malfoy's sneering face was there.

"Nearly forgot to say good morning." He smirked, looking Harry over with no discretion at all before he hurried out of the room.

What.

The.

Fuck.

Harry stared after the boy for a few moments before rinsing himself off. He hurried out of the shower, dressing so quickly that his clothes got wet. When he finally managed to get into the living area Malfoy was sitting calmly at the table, eating his breakfast.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Harry asked, his face still bright red.

"Wishing you a good morning? I should think it's fairly obvious. General social protocol, but I don't expect you would know so much."

"I was talking about the- the- you know what I'm talking about!" Harry sputtered.

"Honestly Harry," Had he just said Harry? "if you can't articulate it, how _am_ I suppose to know what you're talking about?"

"Looking at me in the shower!" Harry snarled, his arms crossed over his chest in the classic protective gesture.

"What? I don't know what you mean." Malfoy muttered, finally looking up from his bangers and mash. "Were you daydreaming about me? Any different from the dreams you have about me at night?"

"What?" Harry sputtered, his face coloring even deeper.

"Oh-Oh Draco… yes… please, mmm, oh yes, more of that… Merlin! Ah!" Malfoy moaned, rolling his eyes as he acted it out. "Honestly Potter, I don't know how a man is suppose to sleep through your wet dreams."

"I-I said no such thing!" Harry scowled.

"So you remember everything that happens in your dreams then?" Malfoy asked. Harry flushed. In all honesty he had dreamt of Draco, but nothing like that, just of playing a seekers game with him. A seekers game that may or may not have ended with the winner choosing a sexual favor, but the dream had unfortunately not gotten that far. He paused in his line of thought. Fortunately, not unfortunately, he corrected his thinking.

"I remember what I dreamed about, and it certainly wasn't that."

"But you were calling out 'Draco-Draco' quite a bit." Malfoy smirked.

"Look, just because we're friends doesn't mean I'm gonna start dreaming of you, you git." Harry snarled and Malfoy's face froze. Harry wondered for a second where he had gone wrong, retracing his words.

"F-Friends?" He heard, or maybe read it more than he heard it as it was so soft. The man's lips hardly moved, and his face was as stoic as ever, but… he thought he heard a weakness in the voice…

"Friends Malfoy." Harry nodded.

"Draco." The boy corrected, his head shooting up and his eyes glimmering. Harry paused, uncertain what to make of that. "If we're going to be friends you have to call me Draco."

Harry waited, knowing the man was going to bring up the way he already called him that in his dreams, but it never came.

"Draco." He said in soft accent to the terms. "Then you have to call me Harry."

Malfo-Draco nodded. His face was… something almost soft, as soft as all those sharp edges could be. He offered Harry a smile before he went back to his food.

* * *

The two finished Harry's homework rather quickly, and had settled down to play a game of wizard's chess, which Malf-Draco was surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly?) good at, when the lover's portrait announced one boy with sandy gold hair on their steps, seeking entrance.

"Sandy gold?" Draco asked. Harry's heart stuttered. Smith.

"Ah, probably Collin." He said. "I'll go take care of him out there, so you don't have to make yourself scarce."

"That's alright, Creepy Creavy is manageable enough." Draco smiled, but Harry shook his head.

"He's a horrible gossip, he'd talk. I'll be back." He said, scuttling out of the door to Portrait to where Smith was.

"Took you long enough, did I interrupt some training?" Smith asked looking excited. "Have you figured out your animal yet? I bet you're a stag, just like your patronus. People tend to be just like their patronus."

"Ah, no, I haven't." Harry said, moving Smith away from the portrait-way.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. What with McGonagall helping you." Smith said wistfully. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today though, you know, get to know each other, more than just as training." Smith said happily. Harry hesitated. He had invited Ron and Hermione over, and he was having fun with Mal-Draco.

"I'm a bit busy right now. What if I meet you at the room of requirements at three and we can hang out there before we start practice?" Harry asked, expecting Smith's face to fall. Instead it lit up with new light, and the boy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, sure! That'd be great!" He smiled, shaking Harry's hand eagerly before running off down the hall. Harry shook his head lightly before going back in to where Draco had somehow spelled the chess game into a different position.

"You cheater!" Harry growled, looking at the new board. He looked over the pieces which were all in different places.

"I just got bored and advanced the game." Malfoy grumbled. "Simple spell, but we can go back if you want."

He swished his wand and the pieces moved backwards until it was the point at which Harry had left.

"The lovers of red and curly brown do knock upon mine entrance." The woman said, and there was something about her tone that made Harry blush.

"Let them in." He said, before looking at M-Draco. He startled then when the boy started to rise and head towards the bedroom. "Where are you going?"

"Away, I rather thought you wouldn't want me here." Draco said, cocking an eyebrow as he leaned up against the wall. Harry stuttered, he had assumed that they could all get along.

"Harry! Malfoy!" Hermione smiled as she entered the room. Harry grimaced. That was right, just because he and Malfoy were friends, he and _Draco_ were friends didn't mean that Mione and Ron would get on with him any better… "Will you be staying this time Malfoy? I have was meaning to grill Harry on the way his homework has improved exponentially."

"You assume I've been doing it?" Malfoy asked, his eyes narrowed and his body stiff.

"Well, no. I imagine if you had done it there would be more complicated explanations." Hermione said after a pause and then sighed. "I can't get Ron to understand the finer points of the inversion of an exoskeleton."

"Mione!" Ron grumbled. He had walked in behind her and had been busy surveying the room, it had changed again, come to think of it, but it was always changing subtly and so slowly that it was hard for Harry to notice.

Harry watched as Malfoy opened his mouth, a snap coming to his lips, he could see it in his eyes.

"Draco's brilliant at explaining that sort of thing." He interjected before the boy could speak. His eyes were on the blonde hoping fervently he would preen into the compliment instead of continuing the remark. Thankfully, that was exactly what he did.

"Brilliant? Yes I suppose I am rather brilliant, after all I only have the book and Potter's notes to work from, and I'm sure you both know how informative those are." Harry opened his mouth to defend Malfoy from his friends when Hermione giggled.

"Informative enough if you could ever decode them." She laughed. "I've tried spells you know, they can't even make heads or tails of it."

"I imagine not. Translation spells are set to decode language, not chicken-scratch." Draco smirked, moving off the wall and towards the loveseat. Ron had already plopped into a chair that he had deemed his own, and Hermione sat across from him in the other chair.

"You think his notebooks are bad? You should try reading the notes he passes in class." Ron said shaking his head. "Half the time I only get them because I have a good idea what he's talking about."

Harry was, frankly, dumbfounded. Who were these people and what had they done with his friends? The ones who hated Malfoy?

"Are you just going to stand there all day with your mouth open or would you at least fetch me the transfiguration book?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry. There was a moment's silence and it was if the entire direction of the conversation rested on Harry's shoulders. He could either take the gift that his friends were offering blindly, or he could speak out now and ruin it.

"Ah, yeah." He muttered, wordlessly summoning the book and sitting down next to Draco. If the world was going to offer him a present, who was he to refuse. Of course, later he would find out what exactly was going on in Ron and Hermione's heads. Shaking his head he opened the book between his and Draco's lap and helped him find the page.

The afternoon passed pleasantly, with Draco cracking more than a few jokes at Harry's expense, and with only the occasional moments of awkwardness, where someone pushed the bounds of the odd relationship they had a bit too far.

Finally Hermione and Ron excused themselves with the fact that they had to go eat lunch (immediately after a place setting of four appeared on the small table, but since neither Harry nor Draco could decide who had wished for it, every one in the room decided to ignore it) and Harry walked them to the portrait.

"Thanks." He said with a slight smile as they closed the lovers couple behind them.

"He's not really a git when you get him by himself." Ron said, eyeing the portrait with a distinct sense of distaste.

"Oh Ron, Harry we just wanted to try and make things easier for you. And I do admit he can be rather… charming if he puts his mind to it." Hermione said with a smile. Ron flushed and sputtered. "Of course, I don't think that will be doing anyone of my gender any good."

"Excuse me?" Ron and Harry sputtered together.

"Oh, didn't you notice? We muggles have something we refer to as a gaydar, mine first went off in fifth year with him, but it's most defiantly ringing now."

"Can you buy this gaydar?" Ron asked, looking like he would purchase ten.

"No, it's an internal thing." Hermione sighed. Harry was too busy being flabbergasted to enjoy Ron's mistake.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, a tinge of panic in his voice.

"Well, I've never seen him actually kiss a man, but I'm pretty sure." Hermione said with a shrug. Ron was shuttering violently and Hermione rolled her eyes. "But I'm going to take this one to get food in his stomach before he makes a scene."

"Gay? Are you sure Hermione? Like bent, like queer gay?" Ron asked. Hermione sighed.

"And then we're gong to have a nice long discussion about what all words you can say." She muttered taking Ron by the shoulder and leading him away.

Harry stood outside the portrait for a few more moments before finally heading in.

Well… it would make sense that Draco was gay. But… what did that mean for him having crawled in Harry's bed at least once before?

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((Hehe oh my! I'm still excepting story ideas with reviews, I only have one so far! So that is once again your prize. (I'll begin working on those as soon as I finish Soul Searching) I hope to hear from you!))


	10. Your Eyes

**Your Eyes…**

((Sorry this is so late, college has been kicking some major ass in my world, and that major ass would be attached to my back side. A special thanks to my anonomus reviewers! All reviews make me happy! Also, I'm gonna drop a rape and other pairing warning in here. Well, have fun! I'll see you at the bottom! [that is most totally what she said!]))**  
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"I suppose they aren't nearly as bad as they could be." Draco said amiably as Harry returned to the room. Harry nodded, his face still slightly flushed at Hermione's revelation. Did that mean… could his first dream have been true after all? He avoided Draco's eyes and sat down at the table, now with lunch for two.

"Do you suppose this comes from the kitchen directly or is it house elf magic like in the kitchen?" Draco asked, picking at the food on his plate. Harry gave a slight shrug and sipped at his pumpkin juice, eyes still on his plate.

"I suppose a walk outside would be good right about now." Draco said in the same voice he had mentioned the other things in. Harry started to nod before his face shot up.

"You can't go out." He said, looking confused.

"Ah, he does speak, I thought for a moment the Weasley had cast a tongue tying jinx on you." Harry blushed slightly and watched as Draco's face gave a flash of emotion before settling back into his normal mask. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah- No… Just have to leave soon after this. Meeting Smith early in the—"

"Smith?" Draco interrupted with a slight edge to his voice. "Zacharias Smith?"

"Yes." Harry said absently and then color fled his cheeks as Draco stood towering over the table.

"Zacharias Smith, heir of Hufflepuff Smith?" Draco asked, and Harry felt his mind scrambling for explanations. "Zacharias Smith of Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff the house I told you not to associate with? That Smith?"

Harry gave a week nod and watched as Draco's face contorted with something between disgust and rage.

"You aren't going." Draco said as his face paled and he sat back down calmly.

"You don't understand, he's harmless I've been teac—"

"No, you don't understand. You. Are. Not. Going." Draco said, his voice calm as an iced over lake, though Harry could tell that it was a thin ice.

"You can't tell me what to do Malfoy. You never even gave me an explanation as to why I couldn't associate with Hufflepuffs! Besides! Smith is harmless!" Harry yelled, feeling his own rage start to build. He had been told what to do all of his life, and now Malfoy was going to add to it?

"You won't go. That's final." Malfoy said firmly. "I'm telling you as a friend, do not go."

Harry snarled, the boy was trying to manipulate the bond. Well, that most certainly wasn't going to happen. With a growl he threw himself away from the table.

"To bad for you Malfoy, I don't always listen to my friends." Harry snarled as he stormed out of the portrait, slamming it behind him. He tried to collect himself on the other side, catching his breath and calming his face, but it didn't work. He was sure he could hear Malfoy pounding on the portrait, which only stood to infuriate him more.

For a moment, he contemplated going to join Hermione and Ron in the Great Hall, but he decided against it, instead stalking off to the Room of Requirements. He needed to blow off steam, and maybe a little target practice would help. His mind spinning he didn't even realize the door was already there when he slammed it open.

"Harry?" A small, nearly frightened voice asked. Harry blinked back the anger from his face in time to recognize Smith. He felt his face break into an eager smile. He'd show Malfoy.

"Sorry, bad day." Harry muttered and threw himself on a couch that was in the room. "Been practicing?"

"Something like that." Smith said, sitting next to Harry. He picked up Harry's hand and held it between his own. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I just got in a fight with a friend is all." Harry sighed. He had the feint urge in the back of his mind to pull his hand away from Smith, but it didn't seem all that important really. Let the boy do what he wanted, he was harmless enough.

"I'm sorry Harry." Smith murmured, and pulled something out of his pocket. "Chocolate frog?"

"Sure." Harry smiled, looking at the frog and wondering why it was unwrapped. Would it still hop? It didn't, and as he put it in his mouth he smiled slightly. Being around Smith was relaxing…

"Why don't I give you a back rub?" Smith offered, his voice lower now and another warning bell went off in Harry's head, but once more it was drowned out by the constant wash of _'Harmless, utterly harmless'_ that was rolling through his head now. And a back rub would be nice, he was awfully tense from the fight with Draco. "Take off your shirt."

Harry did as he was commanded, lying out on the couch and smiling softly as Smith sat on his back. His hands felt awfully good, so warm and soft, and maybe just a little clammy, but that was ok too.

"I've been working a long time at this Harry." Smith said softly, rolling his hands up and down the muscles of his back. "You wouldn't notice of course. Everyone's always brushing you in the hall, trying to touch the chosen one."

"Mmm… Don't call me that." Harry murmured, his eyes closed.

"The savior." Harry felt a twinge of annoyance, but once more it was washed away by the thoughts of harmless. "Of course you wouldn't notice that I'd brushed your robes or hand every day this last month. It wasn't hard, you're so very open. And when I couldn't get to you directly, I could brush things you would touch. It was convenient how well you followed a pattern.

"When you started to pull back from the rest of the class though, I got nervous. I couldn't have you going into complete seclusion to finish your animangus training. The poison would wear off if it wasn't applied every day. I knew I had to hurry up. It was careless of me, but I don't think anyone will really suspect me. Especially not if I have your love marks up and down my neck and chest."

"Hm?" Harry asked, his eyes closed.

"Oh, don't worry Harry, I'll make sure you enjoy it too. As much as this is an assignment, I would hate to not get anything out of it." Smith murmured. Harry felt his skin tingle as hot breath brushed his bare back and he whimpered, shifting his hips a bit. With a gasp he realized that Smith was fully erect and starting to grind into his ass. When had that happened? He wasn't sure he was alright with it, after all, he hardly knew Smith, where was this going? But then, Smith was harmless after all. "Mmm, or maybe I'll take you hard, it's not like you'll be able to tell anyone. Between the poison on my hands and the chocolate frog you ate you'll be dead inside a few hours."

Harry felt his heart beat pick up. Dead? Smith was going to kill him? But he was harmless… it must have been a joke.

"I've been worried though, the amount of poison I've been putting on you might have attracted attention. Of course, if suspicion turns to me I'll be long gone before anyone can take me to Azkaban." He heard the man above him moan, and there was a rustling of clothing. Something soft dropped by his arm and then the pressure of Smith on his back was lessened. "Roll over Harry, I want to see what the poison does, will it affect you to the point that you won't fear me taking you? Mmm, raping the savior, I wish I could tell people about that, but if all goes well, someday I'll be able to."

Harry's eyes were slightly unfocused and it took him a few moments to realize that Smith was undressing him. He whimpered, he didn't want to do this and the joke was going too far. Even if Smith was harmless, he didn't want this.

He felt his pants being pulled down to his ankles and vaguely saw a greedy look on Smith's face, then it turned to disgust.

"What's the matter Potter? Aren't I handsome enough for you? Can't even get it up?" He heard the boy snarl and a hard hand closed around his limp member. He whimpered again, it hurt and he wanted to say so, but he couldn't get his lips to move… they felt so numb… "Maybe you just need more… stimulation."

Harry closed his eyes, that much he could do, as he felt Smith pull away. He didn't want to know what was going on, but Smith was harmless… But he didn't want to be raped… This was all a joke, it had to be. He felt something press against his ass and he tried to shift away from it, but his body felt week.

"Nnn… Yes, that's perfect." Smith moaned softly, and Harry winced as he felt something hard press more firmly against him. "God you're tight. I imagine you would be. The savoir would never let anyone fuck him. No, too good for that right? Too good to be fucked in the ass like a wanton whore. Beg for me to fuck you Harry. I want you to push up against me, take me inside of you."

A jolt of pure horror shot through Harry as he felt his numb lips open and his body respond.

"P-Please… Fuck me. I want you Smith…" He felt himself turn over, wag his ass in the air like a dog in heat. "T-touch me, f-fuck me, I need you. Take me as hard as you want."

"Merlin that's hot." Smith said and his voice was soft but there was a rasp to it, a nearly mad rasp. Oh Merlin, Smith wasn't harmless. Adrenalin shot through Harry's body, waking his mind up for a few moments. He didn't want this, he didn't, but he couldn't move. It was like being under Imperious, but he couldn't fight it off. "Suck me off like the dog you are."

Harry felt his head bob as he turned back, opening his mouth and licking Smith's shaft like an ice-cream cone. He hated it, he didn't want to do this, then the boy thrust into his mouth, pushing Harry's head down so that he was gagging.

"Don't you dare bite me or spit me out." Smith said hoarsely, and Harry choked around the man, feeling his hair being tugged out by the roots as Smith fucked his throat violently. He couldn't breath and his jaw and throat hurt. He didn't want this, he didn't want this at all. He didn't want Smith, he wanted Draco.

"Stop." Smith gasped finally and pushed Harry back onto the couch. "Get back in position."

Harry did as he was told but he watched as Smith dried himself off on a part of his robe.

"You thought I'd let you get any comfort from this? You're a moron." Smith smirked and pressed up hard against Harry's ass. "Fuck you're tight, don't know if I can fit in…"

He felt tears at the corner of his eyes, but he couldn't cry, he was a wanton whore, he had to press back against Smith, had to keep begging.

"Take me. Please take me." His voice was horse with disgust and anguish, but he felt Smith twitch and heard him moan. He closed his eyes as the man pulled back, most likely to thrust in harshly at once. He didn't want this, but he couldn't move, couldn't summon his wand, couldn't do anything.

No, he could think, think of something different, move his mind from here. His mind shot out to the nearest comforting thought, Draco pressed into his chest, murmuring soft words. That's what he wanted most. Draco. He needed Draco.

He almost didn't hear the pop, the gasp, the fumbling. His eyes looked up and caught a pair of startled grey eyes. He knew his face was filled with anguish, even if he couldn't help but push back into the air where Smith had been, he felt the wetness in the corner of his eyes.

"Incarcerous!" He heard screamed angrily. His body was still shifting of its own accord, back and forth into the air, and he heard himself begging filthy things.

"Malfoy! You're suppose to be dead!" Was screamed from behind him, curses were screamed, but only in that stony voice he enjoyed.

"I'm going to ask you once. What did you do to him?" Draco's voice was soft, deadly, like a knife pressed to the front of a throat.

"Why would I tell you? By the time you figure it out he'll be dead!" Smith laughed and Harry nearly let one of the tears from his eyes slip. A curse he didn't hear right, or know was uttered and he heard Smith start screaming in agony. "Haud imperium!"

"What else?" Draco's cold voice was the only sound in the room now, besides Harry's constant whining and begging.

"S-siccus cruor!" Smith snarled. "I'll have you tried in Azkaban for using that curse!"

Harry felt a cold hand on his back, and his body moved into it, whimpering, begging to be fucked still.

"Shh, alright we need to get you to Pomfrey, so I need you to stop acting like this and put some clothes on." Harry gasped as his body fell flat on the couch and then his arms started reaching blindly for clothing. "You're clothes, Harry I need you to be yourself."

A bit of a surge of consciousness burst into his mind and Harry felt the tears fall down his face freely. He continued to get dressed and let Malfoy help him to his feet. A gentle hand rubbed his back and soft words were being whispered in his ear. He felt himself being led into a door that took them to their suite, and then they were moving towards the portrait.

"C-can't go out! Y-ou c-can't g-go." He stuttered in fear, gripping Draco's shirt fiercly.

"Shh… It's ok, it leads to Pomfrey for me." Draco reassured him, opening the door into the back of the hospital wing.

"Mr. Malfoy I told you last time that you aren't to visit without sending a note ahead, what if someone were to- Oh, put him on the bed right there. What's wrong with him?"

"Smith poisoned him. Siccus cruor and Haud imperium potions, Merlin I don't know what reaction they'll have on each other." Draco said gently rubbing Harry's hand.

"Mr. Malfoy, I must insist you stop touching Mr. Potter then. Haud Imperium sets in through the skin." Madam Pomfrey said sternly. But Draco's face was fierce as he looked up at the medi-witch.

"You have to make Harry an antidote anyway." Was his snarled answer. Pomfrey opened her mouth and then closed it again, hurrying off. She returned a moment later with a potion.

"Blood-Replenishing potion. Have him take it now and then we'll start cleaning out his system of the other two potions. I won't be able to get an antidote for Haud Imperium very quickly, but we can counteract the Siccus crour with exchanging his blood." She explained, handing Draco the potion. Draco nodded and pressed a soft, cold finger to Harry's lips.

"Harry? You can take this if you want it." He murmured. It wasn't an order, and yet Harry opened his mouth willingly, his jaw screaming protest but allowing him to swallow it down.

"You're going to have to continue giving him those while I start cleaning out his blood. I'll bring you the supply."

Harry's eyes focused on the grey orbs above him as Draco nodded, but didn't look away from him. He felt his heart give a soft flutter and then massive pain started throughout his chest. He whimpered, grabbing at his heart and gasping.

"He's going into arrest!" Draco yelled and Pomfrey was back within a set of potions, pouring them down Harry's throat in quick succession. He didn't know what else happened though, as his world started to go black. His last vision was that of a pair of grey eyes shining anxiously down on him.

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((Whoooo! That was fun to write! Ok submitting ideas for stories with reviews is still open! Also if you're reading Soul Searching as well it won't be updated until tomorrow. Haven't gotten to write much on it. See aforementioned ass kicking. Hope to hear from you all soon!))


	11. You're ok

**You're ok…**

((Whew! Stressful weekend but I managed to find some time for you. Don't have much written for Soul Searching, but I'll still most likely get it up on time tomorrow, have no fear! Thanks again to the reviewers! I hope this makes things more clear!))

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She cut his throat. What was she doing? Draco nearly screamed, his wand was halfway out of his pocket when he watched red dust flow up in a line from Harry's throat. It was his blood, dry as the desert it soared into a small bucket across the room.

"Do keep pouring those down his throat Mr. Malfoy, his blood needs to be cleaned." Pomfrey said, the tinge of anger in her voice barely perceivable, except to those who had grown up in a house without emotion. Draco nodded and continued pouring the potion down Harry's throat, casting a spell to make him swallow every time a bottle was done. He watched as more and more red sand flew from his throat, tried not to gag and wonder if they weren't just delaying the inevitable.

It must have been fifteen minuets into the procedure when Draco first noticed that a bit of color was seeping back into Harry's face, but still only sand was coming out of his neck. He cast the swallowing charm and looked to see that Pomfrey had created a sort of filter with her magic that let the blood through and took the sand out.

"Almost done Mr. Malfoy, but not yet. He'll need a few more of those potions." The woman said, and for the first time Draco really looked at her. He was shocked to see a bit of sweat on her brow and a concentrated look of near anguish.

"Will he make it?" Draco asked, the words barely slipping out around his tied tongue.

"He should… He should…" Pomfrey muttered. "He'll either make it out of here with very few side effects or he'll die."

Draco didn't gasp, Malfoy's didn't gasp, and even if he wasn't a Malfoy anymore, he wouldn't abandon his heritage as it had abandoned him. He nodded and went back to diligently pouring liquids down Harry's throat. He heard a healing charm cast and when he reached for another bottle of blood replenisher there was nothing left.

"That's all we can do for now Mr. Malfoy." Pomfrey said, setting a hand on his shoulder. "If he makes it through he'll be out in a few days, at most. If not, he won't make it till the morning."

Draco collapsed on the chair next to the bed, staring at his roommate. No, who was he kidding, his crush. His crush of many years. He sighed and grabbed Harry's hand… it felt so cold.

"Draco?" A soft voice and a soft hand set gently on him, but he hardly noticed. Trust McGonagall to be just as cat like in her walking, even her hands felt like the pads on a cat's foot. "Where is Smith?"

"Room of requirement. Bound… maybe dying, I don't know." Draco sighed.

"What did you do to him Draco?" She asked, only a bit of horror in her voice.

"Sectum Sempra." Draco said ideally. McGonagall hissed and took off. So very like a cat.

Draco ran a hand through Harry's hair. He seemed to like that when he was sleeping. He smiled softly. What would Harry have done if he knew Draco had been sneaking into his bed each night, taking care of his nightmares with soft touches and words? He probably would have cast the killing curse on Draco, or worse, himself.

"Draco?" Why were so many people calling him by his given name today? Did he look that fragile? Well… maybe he did. He should care about that, but he didn't. "What other poisons are in Potter's system?"

"Those are the only ones I got out of Smith." Draco snarled. He reached up and brushed that dark hair off the far too pale face. Harry was giving him a run for his money on the paleness department. It wasn't right though, Harry was suppose to be a bronze demi-god, a Hercules of their modern age.

"Was there any chance there might have been a love potion as well?" Pomfrey asked softly. Draco snorted.

"A good chance." He said and forced the thoughts of Harry being… He shook his head, he couldn't even think of it.

"Thank you."

He sighed then, having the room back to just himself and Harry. He rubbed the man's hand softly, he was a man now wasn't he? No longer just the boy Draco had longed for all these years. He would make it. He had to. He was the bloody savoir of the whole fucking wizarding world. He had to make it.

"Harry!" A rush of brown and red shot up next to him, Granger and Weasley cooed and coddled him for a moment before Granger settled her judging eyes on Draco.

"Who did this?" She snarled.

"Smith." He managed, still not letting go of Harry's hand.

"Where is he?" Weasley asked, his wand drawn and looking ready to kill Smith himself.

"I don't know… Dead maybe… I sent McGonagall after him… He might have survived." Draco shrugged, hunching himself more over Harry's hand. It was all he could claim of the boy with his friends around. Harry's mind was with Granger, his heart with Weasley, and even though he had always denied Draco his hand, he would keep it for the moment.

"Blimey, you didn't—"

"I don't know. I cast a curse to get Smith to tell me what he did to Harry. If he lived or not, it didn't matter." Draco muttered. Granger sighed, her eyes gentle on him.

"Ron, why don't you go check in with McGonagall?" She told him, but phrased it like a question for his benefit. Weasley nodded, patting Harry's shoulder once more before taking off down the hospital wing.

"Are you ever going to tell him?" Granger asked, taking a seat next to Draco, a hand on Harry's knee. Draco could almost flinch at how familiar they were, but it didn't matter.

"He might die." Draco said softly. "We won't know if he'll make it till tomorrow."

"What happened?" She asked, still soft, still gentle.

"Siccus cruor, a blood drying potion that's most often used on corpses of dragons. To be ingested by a living person… It slowly dries all the blood in the body, but something about the other potions… Haud Imperium, the puppet potion, and probably some form of love potion, it sped up…"

"Pomfrey?" Granger asked.

"Looked nervous." Draco said, and he was glad Weasley wasn't there. The last thing he needed was for the red-head to hear his voice crack. He bowed his head a bit more, touching his forehead to Harry's hand.

"I just don't understand why he insisted on seeing Smith. We all told him not to." She sighed.

"Haud Imperium." Draco reiterated, "It can be applied slowly over time, the build up makes people more and more open to suggestions of the poisoner. Should the poisoner not be around, then it makes them slightly more open to suggestions to those around him. Merlin, I told him to get dressed and I thought he was going to hurt himself…"

"Why were—?"

"Please, don't ask." Draco muttered into the bed. "I can't think about it."

He could feel Granger stiffen at his side, hear her hiss, but he didn't move.

"I hope you didn't kill him… I want to do that myself." She snarled and stood up. Draco didn't move, his body was paralyzed next to Harry's. He felt her make a few agitated movements, the wind from which ruffled his hair, before she sighed. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Ask Pomfrey, she might need help making a cure for Haud Imperium." Draco murmured. He could hear her walk away, but didn't look.

Hours passed, each moment an eternity, Draco's fingers pressed firmly into Harry's pulse point, ever searching for the weak pulse. At some point Granger and Weasley returned. They sat on either side of him, each reaching out to hold Harry now and then. Draco wasn't sure when he fell asleep, never felt the blanket dropped over him…

He woke up with a start as his handhold, his lifeline tugged gently.

"Hurts…" Was muttered in a raspy harsh voice that could only belong to one person. Draco's eyes shot open and he squeezed harder on the wrist. "Bloody hell…"

"You're alive!" Draco gasped, managing to turn it into a sneer only at the last moment.

"Am I?" Harry asked, using his other hand to rub his eyes, "I bloody well feel like I'm dead. Where are Mione and Ron?"

"I'm not sure, I fell asleep." Draco murmured, his fingers still pushed into Harry's pulse point, feeling the beating of his heart under his finger tips.

"Are you going to let go?" Harry asked and Draco gave a slight smirk.

"I saved you, you should be grateful." Draco grinned. Harry gave a sigh and shivered a bit.

"S-Smith?"

"I don't know. Dead maybe." Draco shrugged. "No one's told me yet."

"What did you do?" Harry asked, trying to sit up. Draco set his other hand gently on his shoulder, pushing him back into the pillow. His eyes were narrowed.

"Don't be an idiot Potter, you nearly died. As for Smith… No worse than he deserved." Draco grumbled. "Nothing that hasn't been done to me."

"Draco?" Harry asked lightly. Draco sighed and relinquished his hold on Harry's wrist, noting that it was bruised, which was wonderful. His blood was liquid and pooling, not sad clumping up like grit beneath his skin.

"I'll go if you want." He said, standing up, his eyes downcast. "I understand."

"No!" Harry's eyes went wide and Draco flinched. What all did he remember? Merlin only knew what had happened before Draco walked in. He sat back down next to the boy and set his hand back on his wrist. "H-How did you get there?"

"I'm not sure. I was in our room one moment and then I felt wrenching pain all through my body, and suddenly I opened the door to go puke in the bathroom and I was in the room with you." Draco murmured, not that he would admit to it. No, in his mind it was more of a whisper.

"How?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe the bond? As soon as I was with you the pain went away and I could focus on…" He stopped and shook his head.

"Time is it?" Harry muttered groggily.

"Late enough." Draco answered patting Harry's hand. He watched Harry nod and then smiled as the boy's eyes fell shut. It was enough for now. He smiled watching to make sure the boy's breath had evened before he chuckled a bit

Draco leaned back over the bed, resting his own head on the mattress, and fell asleep.

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((OK! There you have it, as per always it seems, excepting story ideas! Please Review!))


	12. You're an idiot

**You're an idiot.**

((Just a reminder for all of you also reading Soul Searching, it will NOT be updating this week as I want to spend extra time on the final chapter. Once more I thank all of the reviews, you guys rock my socks!))**  
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"Mr. Malfoy, you will be happy to know that Mr. Smith was not killed because of your curse." Was the first thing Draco heard in the morning. He groaned, rubbing his neck and the painful crick in it.

"Not really." He grumbled. "Where is the bastard? I'll finish the job."

"As serious as the offence was against Mr. Potter, I don't see how you can justify tying him up and then cursing him." McGonagall said in a stern voice. Draco flushed.

"He was dying, I had to do something to make him talk. It was this or Imperio." McGonagall flinched, as if the use of the word would somehow cast it.

"Be that as it may, you are in serious trouble young man." McGonagall grumbled.

"What are you going to do? Expel me?"

"It is a distinct possibility." McGonagall said, chin high. "You're here under the terms of Sanctuary, which we had gladly provided you, but if we find this attack unjustified we will be forced to turn you over to the ministry."

Draco didn't sigh, and didn't sneer, he kept his eyes locked on Harry's chest, still rising and falling with sleep. The woman eventually walked away, but was quickly replaced by Granger and Weasley who must have been waiting for her to leave.

"Madam Pomfrey said he woke up last night, what did he say?" Granger asked, sitting down on a chair next to Draco. He felt a small smile cross his lips as she looked for Harry's hand, but found Draco already holding his pulse point firmly.

"He asked after you, and Smith, and how I got to him, but he wasn't up for long. He dropped right back to sleep within moments of waking." Draco muttered, his thumb absently wandering the pulse point, looking for a spot where the pulse might be stronger than fluttering no stronger than a butterfly which was all he felt pushing against his finger.

"How did you get to him?" Ron asked, sounding only slightly annoyed.

"I think it's the bond. I was in pain for a while, but I thought it was the potions wearing off at first. When I left the bedroom to go to the bathroom and puke, I found myself in the room of requirements."

"Interesting… they are based on similar principles, I read up on the room you're in, it's a honeymoon room. Traditionally there was a three month period after the wedding where, if the marriage did not bear fruit, the wizard was allowed to annul the marriage and find a new witch. The room will provide anything either asks for, obtaining it from the nearest source if it is not able to create it from its own stores. I assume it summons the food fro—."

"The important part Granger." Draco sighed, trying his best not to snarl.

"Well, the witch wasn't often allowed to go anywhere the male wasn't present, so the doors to the room would only lead to rooms where it was necessary for her to be. Class, the hospital wing, and if her husband was generous the girls dorm of the house she was from, though if she tried to leave, the room's magic would make any other doorway a route back to the bedroom." Hermione said. "Barbaric principle really…"

"You're telling me the room thinks I'm a witch?" Draco said very slowly and very dangerously.

"Well, yes I suppose so—Draco wait, before you get flustered, it would have had to work like that anyway, you couldn't be allowed out and a bout if you were here under sanctuary. It makes sense. I simply don't understand why McGonagall insisted that Harry room with you in the first place… that I haven't figured out…"

Draco bit his lip as that little mudblood called him by his first name. He was being civil to her, yes, but that was a level of familiarity that was nigh on offensive. He supposed he really was to blame; he had been too nice to her. Still, she had a point.

"Heh… good wifey." Harry muttered sleepily, flapping the arm Draco held a bit.

"Harry!" Granger and Weasley both shouted at once, and Draco nearly relinquished his grasp to cover his delicate ears.

"'Ello…" Harry muttered groggily, adjusting a bit so he was sitting more. "Any news on Smith?"

"Alive." Draco spat.

"Thank goodness for him!" Hermione said, ignoring Draco's scowling. "McGonagall is threatening to turn him over to the ministry! She doesn't want anyone but Draco to know, but I heard her."

"Extendable Ears." Ron said with a smirk.

"Would she do that?" Harry asked, his face a wash of concern. Stupid Gryffindors never could keep their emotions under wraps, but Salazar himself would do a jig before Draco let the happy smile that wanted to steal across his face beam through his mask.

"He preformed a dark curse, well, I don't think it's been officially classified, which might save him…" Hermione murmured.

"What did you use Draco?" Harry asked, his full attention on Draco. He smiled, this was the place he thrived, with Harry's anger held back by Gryffindor goodness and his own wiles allowed by Slytherin's stealth.

"As I said no—"

"Sectum Sempra!" Ron interrupted. Draco frowned, but his attention was turned away as Harry's arm went limp under his fingers.

"You could have killed him." Harry said softly. Draco wondered if that was suppose to make him feel guilty. Instead his eyes flashed and he tightened his hold.

"I wish it had." He snarled, his steal grey eyes flashing like swords in a duel.

"Draco, I know you've never killed before, you can't do it, it's not who you are." Harry said softly.

Draco snapped.

"What the hell do you think you know Potter? You don't know what I went through, you can't! Even if you did see through the Dark Lord's eyes, like you said at the trial, you still have no idea! No idea what I would kill for!" He stood and whirled, opening the door that led to Pomfrey's private quarters and disappearing with a soft swish.

"You shouldn't have said that." Hermione muttered, watching as a confused Pomfrey moved out of her door and opened and closed it once or twice. Draco would be back in the rooms sulking.

"Hermione…"

"You don't understand him." She said firmly.

"And you do?" Harry asked, a bit of anger stirring up in his tone.

"Better than you do anyway. I don't think anyone will ever understand him." She said, head held high.

"I've lived with him for the past months!" Harry said, his voice rising a bit more.

"And you probably haven't even figured out that he talks to the regina for company because you're gone so often? Surprised? If you read up on the plant you wouldn't be, it takes the coloring of the one it wants to please. Draco would be much more impressed by silver than you would. I wouldn't be surprised if he blood bonded it. Not that you would have noticed that either! He's alone in his room most of the day Harry, you're his only source of company, that alone might have been enough!"

"Alone?" Ron asked, and Hermione scowled, leave it to Ron to pick up the finer points of grammar at the worst possible moment.

"Never mind, it isn't my place to speak." Hermione said, she rubbed her eyes wearily. "We should go, I know you need more sleep Harry."

He was about to protest when Madam Pomfrey, apparently done examining her door, stalked back to the bedside.

"Time for your potions, Mr. Potter." She said and held out a large tray. "Some will be most unpleasant, so I advise that you leave, Granger, Weasley."

Hermione nodded taking off with a spin of skirts and Ron sighed, following after her, casting an apologetic glance at Harry over his shoulder. Harry sighed as well, but submitted to the potions, gagging a few time, retching once, but the potion didn't come up of course.

"There, you'll be out of it for another good while now." Pomfrey said with a nod, "Till dinner, then we'll get you tested to see what the damage is."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, trying to fight the growing weights on his eyelids.

"Sleep well Potter." Pomfrey smiled and ran a gentle hand through his hair, as a mother might have.

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Draco fumed, he paced back and forth along the small living area.

"Not capable of killing?" He snarled. Potter was starting to sound like his father, even before the man had gone mad. Would he actually have to kill someone to prove to others he could do it? He fumed at that thought as well. Why had he spent so many hours brooding over the boy's bed to be called incapable. Draco gnashed his teeth and hissed, he turned to the silver regina and sat down with it, as he did every day at about this time.

"He's a right ass you know." The plant, as sympathetic as plants could be, seemed to agree. "I don't understand why I'm always falling for him. I can fight it off for months at a time you know, I used to be able to. Now I can barely hold my own against him for a few hours. Even now I'm starting to loose the rage to worry. Merlin knows the idiot can't take care of himself."

The plant flicked out a tender leaf and Draco smiled. Pulling a small pin from his robes he pricked a finger and let the blood fall on the expectant leaf.

"At least I understand you. You enjoy our chats and expect certain things from me. Merlin's left nutsack, if I only knew what Potter wanted." The plant seemed to wince a bit at the anger in Malfoy's voice. He sighed softly and stroked one of the other soft leaves. "Sorry, you're right, far too delicate to listen to me rant like this. Not like I can talk to anyone else though. Even if I had an owl, who would I send it to? Mother? She'd probably turn the letter over to Father. And Pansy, well, she hasn't been doing so well, not since the Dark Lord was defeated. I hear she didn't come back, but I don't know. Once more, it's not like I can check."

Draco set his head on the windowsill, looking for all the world like a sulking cat.

"I should check on him." He grumbled. The plant said nothing of course, but Draco nodded to it. "I won't hold his hand though. If he turns it'll be up to himself to save his ass…" He winced at the rather unfortunate wording of the sentence and shook himself. Nodding he bid the plant goodbye and headed back to the hospital wing.

Harry was already asleep when he got there, and he settled back down on the chairs beside the boy.

"Bloody gitt." He grumbled. He smiled at Pomfrey when she brought him a lunch, and picked at it half heartedly, his eyes trailing back to the still too pale figure on the bed. Honestly, Harry was suppose to be the sun, and Draco the moon, if they were both the pale lights of the night it would never work.

Draco pulled out one of Harry's books that he had brought with him, and continued to read the lessons, knowing Harry would need help catching up.

By four he had fallen asleep on the bed again, as his last nights sleep had been restless at best.

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Harry woke with a soft moan. His body felt sore all over yet, and there was an uncomfortable dip in the bed by his left hip. He shifted a bit, a hand wandering to find the problem and furrowed his brows when his fingers met with silk. He opened his eyes slowly to the ever dim hospital wing, and moved his head a bit so he could see what was causing his slight discomfort.

A mass of blonde, nearly white hair in the dim light, glowed softly.

Draco.

Harry let his fingers linger in the silk for a moment before pulling his hand away, shifting so that the weight of Draco's body didn't bother his own sore form so much.

"You're up a bit early." Pomfrey said in a whisper as she came up beside the bed.

"When did he come back?" Harry asked.

"Oh, not long after he left. Poor boy has hardly gotten any sleep, just keeps passing out and waking up. I've thought about demanding he leave, but I feel it would only be counter productive." Pomfrey smiled softly. "Alright, lets see if you can get out of bed on your own. I wouldn't worry about not waking him though, he's either so far out a third war couldn't wake him, or on the edge of consciousness already."

Harry nodded softly and heaved a sigh, assuming getting up would be a piece of cake. He had managed to get himself sitting up before, and that was a bit of a struggle, but not too bad. He swung one leg then the other over the bed and stood, locking his knees as the weight of his body felt monumental. Then both knees gave out at the same time.

"Leviocorpus!" Harry found himself about an inch from the ground, his nose facing it and his glasses lying under him. "Honestly Potter, don't be such an idiot."

Harry frowned a bit as he was levitated up into his bed, and a baggy eyed Draco rubbed at his own face. "You're lucky you're moving at all, that poison easily could have fried what little brains you had left, not to mention how much crap is in your muscles now that the initial cleanings didn't get out."

"What was the poison exactly?" Harry grumbled as he was set on the bed with the spell.

"It turned your blood to sand, normally it would do it slowly, but it seemed to react with the other potions and you filled up like an egg timer." Draco grumbled.

Pomfrey sighed, taking notes and nodding along a bit before she hurried off to get a few potions.

"Here, both of you take this." She said. "Mr. Slughorn and Ms. Granger brewed it up for you, it should counteract the Haud Imperium."

Draco uncorked the vial and downed it like it was water, and Harry warily followed suite.

"Now, Mr. Potter, from what I've observed I'll say you will most likely be back on your feet by next week."

"Next week!" Harry yelped, sputtering around the vile tasting potion.

"Most likely, but it is possible it would take longer. If it were anyone _but_ you I would tell them with in a month, but I know how you like to push things. Now I'll have Mr. Malfoy feed you, as I have other patients to attend to, but I'll be back to make sure you've eaten." Pomfrey said, and with a swish of skirts was off, showing the tray that had been behind her filled with two dinner plates.

"I can feed myself." Harry muttered, reaching to grab the plate, but Draco quickly grabbed it first, setting it on Harry's lap.

"Cut a piece of the meat." He said firmly. Harry glanced at Draco warily but sawed viggerously at the meat. It seemed a thousand times tougher than what the house elves normally cooked. Draco, apparently tired of watching, grabbed Harry's fork and knife and cut neatly through the meat. "Put it in your mouth."

Harry didn't blush at the statement, that would be ridiculous. He grabbed the fork and grunted as it seemed to weigh five or ten pounds, but eventually brought it to his mouth, managed to chew, and finally swallowed it.

"I'll be feeding you." Draco said firmly, and Harry opened his mouth to protest. "Don't be an idiot."

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((Well, Smith didn't die... I'm sad too, but it is what it is. Draco's being a good wifey (snikers), and Harry's being an idiot. Tune in next week for... well I'm not really sure yet, but when I know, so will you! Read and review please! And as always, if you have fun ideas that you think would be cool for me to write, pop'em in a review!))


	13. You're Trouble

**You're Trouble**

((I could tell you how many projects I put off to update this, but you really don't want to know, and I don't want to think about it. November is gonna be a bit rough for me, so my ever Monday might get messed up a bit! Just a heads up))**  
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Draco's eyes drifted as he held the napkin up to Harry's chin for the third time, a bit of sauce ran out of the corner of his lips. He had both legs locked around the chair he was sitting so that he wouldn't simply lean over and lick it off. Harry muttered an apology, but started to lay back. A hand shot up, twisting into those tangled black locks, and holding his head up.

"You need to drink more first." He muttered, trying to sound condescending. "Half your water just evaporates and you can't be bothered to drink. There…"

It wasn't a coo, he wouldn't coo, and Har-Potter most defiantly wasn't coo worthy… Maybe it was a slight coo. He watched heavy lids fall over the green eyes.

"It's ok, you can go to sleep." Draco murmured, gently setting Harry's head on the pillow. The man made a soft noise of consent. Draco wasn't even sure his breathing had evened before McGonagall was standing over his shoulder.

"Have you made a decision?" He asked softly.

"We've decided to give you a chance to defend yourself before we make our final decision." She said softly. She cast a few illusions on him and another spell that Draco wasn't sure of before nodding. "Come along, he'll be out for a while yet."

"You can't separate me from him." He said, standing slowly and walking behind her, only slightly surprised as the door he walked through didn't lead back to the bedroom. "The bond…"

"Can be broken easily enough should I have to do such a thing. It would be painful, yes, but there's really no reason to have it there if you aren't staying with us." She said, her chin high as she led the way to the gargoyle staircase. Draco stuttered his step momentarily, but hurried after the professor. He could already tell which of them it would hurt more.

Assembled in the Head Mistress's office were all the heads of house, including Sprout. Malfoy's eyes narrowed a bit, but hoped the corruption wasn't that high up the branches.

"Mr. Malfoy, I assume you know why you're here." McGonagall said, taking a seat behind the desk, and motioning graciously for him to move to the center of the room. It was like a mini-wizemgots. Draco stiffened a bit but then proceeded to the center of the room. "You may begin."

"I wanted Smith dead, but if I had a chance, I wouldn't do the same thing again. I would have made sure the curse went deeper and killed the bastard."

"Mr. Malfoy!"

"No, it's true. I… Can hardly describe what happened when I walked into the room. Harry wasn't just dying, he was being…" Draco paused, he didn't want to say what had really happened, but he needed to get the dire circumstances across "tortured in inhumane ways. Things that would make any one of you turn pale."

"There were very few marks found on Mr. Potter." Slughorn put in. Draco sneered.

"You're a wizard, surely you can think of tortures that don't involve physical marks."

"The last spell used by Smith was leviosa." Sprout piped up.

"Honestly, it wasn't as if he wouldn't have covered his tracks." Flitwick put in.

"I can hardly see how you would expect anyone to cast after that spell!" Sprout shouted.

"I can hardly see anyone using a potion that slowly turns all the blood in a person's body to sand!" Flitwick shot back, efficiently silencing Sprout.

"What type of torture?" McGonagall asked. Draco flushed; leave it to the cat to pull out ever last rat.

"I'd rather not say. It was of a highly personal nature." Draco muttered.

"Oh, don't be so noble Draco, they're all sworn to silence anyway, as am I." Pomfrey said, bustling in behind him. "Sorry I'm late, Peeves threw a first year down the stairs, I had to tend to her before I came up. As for the type of torture, there was oral rape and attempted anal rape."

The room went very silent and Draco flushed to the ears, partially with embarrassment but mostly with anger.

"You had no place saying that!" He snarled, clenching his fists tightly.

"But I did, as a medical examiner, it was exactly my place. Now between that and the bond that McGonagall cast, I would imagine that such a spell was warranted. Not to mention the fact that it wasn't a dark curse." Pomfrey said, her hands on her hips.

"Surely you wouldn't arg—"

"I make no argument Slughorn, only fact. A curse is a spell that the Minsitry has determined to ban. There is currently no laws against the use of Sectum Sempra, its users can't be punished as if it were a dark curse. While the effects were life threatening, they were treatable, no worse than some of the jinxes the students here have cast. I suggest we take his wand—no not snap it, but suspend him from it. That should do quite well."

Draco snarled but pulled his wand from his pocket. Pomfrey smiled taking it and handing it to McGonagall who put it in the top drawer of her desk.

"Very well, you may continue to stay here, but we will keep your wand until further notice." McGonagall said, sounding skeptical. Draco nodded. "You're dismissed."

Draco nodded, and felt something snap over him, he didn't bother checking, he had a good idea it was the spells McGonagall had cast, and as he walked through the door he was in the hospital wing again. He settled back down on his chair, wishing he had his wand. He could have transfigured it into something, he wouldn't have, because he never knew who might be tracking his magic, but that wasn't the point. When Pomfrey finally got back in the room she cast him a small smile before bustling on. He wondered for a moment how much she knew. She would be in the know, with children gossiping around her all the time. He frowned a bit but set his head back down on Harry's bed. He hadn't been resting that way for long when he felt a hand drift through his hair. He held himself still, his heart pumping like a jack rabbit's.

The fingers continued their leisurely exploration, through the messy mane that Draco knew was too long, and had gone too long without proper grooming spells. But the fingers continued their gentle path over his skull, tracing the back of his neck and then teasing his ear gently, running the shell of it. Draco bit his lips to keep from moaning, his eyes squeezed shut with concentration.

Slowly the fingers drifted away, out of the hair, brushing once across his face before they were gone. He felt Harry shift and made a small show of muttering protest before looking up at a slightly flushed Potter.

"Look who's finally up." Draco smirked, rubbing fake sleep from his eyes.

"You're one to talk, you were just asleep." Harry grumbled.

"Yes, but I've been out and about, unlike some sloths." He smirked when Harry started to think of an objection but raised a hand. "Pomfrey should be back soon with more for you to drink, as it is you need to rest."

"The bloody hell I will." Harry muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position. Draco frowned a bit but cocked an eyebrow. He could always catch Harry with a sp-

"Lay down." He said, his face now red with anger and humiliation. Harry seemed taken a back.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked, now sitting up, though he was panting a bit.

"He's feeling a bit emasculated without his wand is all." Pomfrey smiled, bustling in with a glass of water for Harry.

"Without- What do you mean? What happened?"

"They took my wand away." Draco grumbled.

"Why did they do that?" Harry demanded. He knew how naked he felt without his wand, and he had grown up in the muggle world, imagining how Draco must feel.

"Because I tried to kill Smith, that's why." Draco growled. "And I said I'd do it again."

"But they don't know all the facts—"

"Ah, no but they do." Pomfrey put in, setting the glass in Draco's hands. "Only the heads of house, but it was my duty to inform them."

This time both Harry and Draco were red, though Harry's red quickly washed out to white. Draco set a free hand on Harry's and gave it a small squeeze. The other boy looked startled, but then smiled back at Draco. He took a deep breath and motioned for the water, which Draco helped him drink.

"Of course I don't see any reason why Draco can't use your wand Harry." Pomfrey said. "As I'll expect you'll want to be back in your rooms soon. Don't worry, both of you will be able to go back by tonight, so long as Draco can use your wand Harry, I don't want you falling in an heap and unable to get up."

"We don't even know if he can use my wand." Harry said, sounding a bit guarded.

"There's only one way to tell." Pomfrey said. Harry paused before he nodded to Draco, handing him his wand.

Draco felt a surge of magic run up his arm, this wasn't just any wand, it was Harry's. He nodded slowly and cast a simple feather light charm on Harry and picked him up off the bed to prove he was capable.

"I thought as much." Pomfrey nodded, and there was something in her smile that neither boy trusted. "Harry you have a few more potions I'll need you to drink here, but then you two can go back to your rooms."

There was a sharp crash and Pomfrey frowned, moving to check on what had fallen when Ginny and Luna rushed by her. They stopped dead at the sight of Draco, and Ginny cast without thinking.

Draco started to dodge the spell, but then realized it would hit Harry. Without time to cast a shield he made himself as large as possible, to absorb all of the spell. Pomfrey gasped as Draco hit the floor like a slab of rock, his head cracking hard on both the bed and chair and he wouldn't have been able to move even had he not been petrified.

His head was foggy as he heard shouts and yells, even when the spell was released he didn't move. Pomfrey held a potion to his lips, which he swallowed only out of reflex, and then gagged at the foul concoction.

"It's a healing potion Malfoy, not a butter beer." She said with a slight smile, helping him to his feet.

"I won't apologize." Ginny said firmly, her arms wrapped over her chest. Luna gave a small frown and set a hand on her shoulder.

"But Ginny, he really hasn't done anything wrong, and you shouldn't just go casting spells."

"Hasn't done anything wrong? He's a _Malfoy_ that's enough of a strike against him!" Draco felt words about ginger Weasleys rising to the tip of his tongue but he couldn't articulate them. Instead he settled with a snarl. Ginny sneered and Harry was ranting about something or other.

"Is… this going to delay us?" Draco asked, setting a hand to his head where there was a bit of blood.

"Oh no, you took the concussion potion before the concussion even had time to set in. You might be a bit sore, but nothing too bad, and that cut will heal right up."

"Honestly, you didn't even tell me he was _here_!" Ginny was screeching and Harry was yelling back. Draco blinked slow eyes.

"I'm missing something." He said slowly. "Why is the wonder couple fighting?"

"They aren't a couple." Pomfrey said with a sly grin. "Haven't been for months. Ginny is with Luna."

"What?" Draco asked, his voice raising a bit. Harry looked up, a bit of concern flitted across his face.

"It's not new." Pomfrey muttered with a wave of her hand, dismissing it as she helped Draco to his feet. "Anyway, now that you two know, you have to swear secrecy. No one can know Draco is here."

"I don't see why it matters." Ginny huffed, and Luna, always the fretful one, wrapped her arms around the girl gently.

"It's what Harry wants, isn't that right Harry?" She asked, her voice as dreamy as ever.

"Yes, Draco saved my life. I owe him." Harry said. He didn't need to add that Ginny owed him, the look on her face showed that she understood that well enough. She gave a huff, but settled more comfortably into Luna's arms.

"Fine, but I won't like it." She grumbled.

"I'm not asking you to like it." Harry said firmly, he looked back to Draco who still had a dazed look on his face. Harry gave a grunt and fell back into the bed, his strength to hold himself up giving out. Draco snapped out of his daze and glared at both Harry and the girls.

"We'll be leaving." He said, his nose in the air as a pure-bloods would be, and picked Harry up with the feather light charm, carrying him through Pomfrey's door and into their own bedroom.

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((Phew! Well, I hope you enjoyed it, not sure what all went down, but I think I have a plan again! YAY! As always review please! I'll respond to each one! And while I won't be putting up another story until December, I'm still collecting ideas.))


	14. You're Kidding

**You're Kidding**

((So I'm sure you're all very tired of my excuses, but I'll give you one anyway. What we had here was a failure to communicate (-insert southern drawl) Anyway, here's your update, a week late and a dollar short?))**  
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Draco set Harry on the only bed in the bedroom. He scowled at the room, now decked mostly in red.

"I don't understand this place." He grumbled and ran his fingers along Harry's wand, getting used to the smooth wood beneath them.

"Me either, but if you would give me my wand back…"

"Fat chance of that Potter. You can't stand, doing magic might kill you. You can have it back when you can walk to the loo on your own." Draco smirked and gave the wand a flick. The room gave a tiny groan, but another smaller bed was transfigured out of the chair in the corner. "I don't know about, you, but I'm exhausted, good night."

Draco willed the lights off and slid out of his clothes before transfiguring them into blankets and a mattress for the bed. Still it was an uncomfortable and stiff bed. He tossed and turned for a few moments before he heard a sigh.

"Give it up, the infernal room thinks we should be sleeping together and it obviously intends on getting its way. It's a big enough bed, you sleep on one side, I'll sleep on the other. It'll be like a sleep over or something."

"A what?" Draco asked, but he was already scrambling to find a pair of night cloths to sleep in.

"Sleep over, like a slumber party, except those are more girly."

"What are you going on about?"

"You know, where friends sleep in the same room, and if there isn't an extra bed or cot they sleep in the same bed." Harry said with a sigh.

"That's absurd, why would they sleep at someone else's house?" Draco asked, sliding into a pair of pajama bottoms before moving to the top drawer for his shirt. He tugged a few times, but it seemed the drawer was firmly locked. "Bloody hell."

"It's a bonding experience and what _are_ you going on about?"

"It won't let me get a night shirt." Draco snarled and slammed his fist against the dresser. Harry sighed.

"It doesn't matter, just ge- Wait what were you sleeping in before then?" Harry asked, now sitting up.

"Shut it Potter, it's not like I have a lot of cloths to begin with. The room only provides me with what it sees fit."

"I forgot…" Harry said softly, thinking of his own trunk of clothes and personal possessions. Draco didn't have any of that. He struggled to get out of bed, but Draco must have heard the commotion because a moment later there was a hand on his shoulder pushing him back down.

"Honestly Harry, get some rest. I'll just forego it this evening, I'm sure it'll give into reason tomorrow morning." Draco muttered and, when he was sure Harry was settled back down, slid to the other side of the bed.

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Harry woke up first that morning, a surprise in and of itself, but he had been doing little but sleeping for a while now. He nuzzled into the warmth and frowned when he found soft skin pressed up against his lips. His mind swam for a moment before he realized he was wrapped around Draco. With a small curse, Harry tried to extract himself from the blonde but it didn't seem to be working. There was a lean leg threaded between his own, and hooked over his left ankle. How did Draco manage to do this in the morning?

A small flush came to his face and he thought he had an inkling of why there was only one bed in the room. They had both been slept in Harry's bed, perhaps the room thought it was a sign of… growth? Harry sighed a bit and then stiffened when the blonde in his arms moaned a bit and pressed something, most defiantly not a hip bone, into his stomach.

Great, bloody brilliant, Malfoy had morning wood. Harry could have died. His mind picked at that sentence with a sort of gallows humor for a moment before he felt his own body start to respond to the gentle rutting of the slighter man against him. He felt his mind swimming looking for a solution to the rutting and a flash came back to him from that night. He felt his body go cold and a small sweat break out on his body as images of Smith returned to him. His body shut down and he felt helpless, as if he was under the potion again and unable to move. A soft hand slid over his back and hesitated in the wet it found there. Slowly grey eyes opened to wide startled green ones.

"What…" Draco murmured softly and then his eyes flew open wide. He threw himself back and out of the bed with such a force that for a moment Harry wondered if he'd used magic. The blonde rose quickly to his feet, covering his situation with his hands but he sat back on the bed, blanket pulled over it so he could free his hands.

"Harry?"

Harry thought about responding but he wasn't sure he could. That the blonde hadn't run screaming form the room was a testament to his courage, or his audacity, which Harry wasn't sure.

"Harry, I'm so sorry, I've never slept with anyone before- I mean, not in the same bed with them, not that I've slept with other people on anything other than a bed—ah…" Harry felt his pulse slow as he watched Draco fumble for words, and slowly a chuckle rose to his lips.

"It's… I just had a nightmare was all." Harry said, uncertain if it was a lie or not. Draco's face grew dark and then blanched before forming into a mask. Harry watched as Draco stood up from the bed and ran a hand through his hair, he didn't miss the fact that multiple strands came out between his whitened fingers and knuckles.

"I apologize, I'll make sure the room behaves properly tonight, or I'll sleep in the other bed." Draco muttered, looking at the poorly transfigured chair. He gave Harry's wand a few twitches and his clothes transformed back from their prior shape and the bed tried to make itself a bit more presentable. With a shrug Draco tried the drawers of the dresser again, and this time they opened to him. He quickly grabbed out a few things and turned to leave before frowning.

"I'm going to take a shower. You may have your wand, but you can only use it in case of emergency. You nearly died Harry." Draco said firmly, and Harry nodded, accepting his wand with an air of formality. When Draco had left, Harry sighed and relaxed more fully into his bed. What was going on with him? Why had he acted like that to Draco?

_'You were nearly raped you nim-wit!'_ Some part of his mind scolded him. But he hadn't been, he'd been saved. _Draco_ had saved him. He didn't want to have to live with the fact that Smith might have affected him; Smith didn't deserve that sort of power over his life.

Harry sighed, pushing the thoughts from his head. He had other things to think about. Like why, now that it was over, he was upset that Draco had thrown himself off the bed. He knew the man had slept with him before, was he really that disgusted by him? Harry shook his head and carefully moved his legs to the side of the bed. He knew Draco would yell at him, but it didn't much matter. He wasn't going to lay about all day, it just wasn't who is was.

His legs gave a small complaint, but he ignored them. Clutching the railing on the wall (really this room wouldn't create another bed, but would create a railing?) he sighed and worked his way into the living area. He sat down rather hard and felt a pain rip through his chest. With a frown he put a hand over his heart, trying to figure out the source of the pain, and he refused to believe he was having a heart attack. Still, the pain continued and he shook his head. He should tell Draco.

With a few more grunts, and about three minuets later, he managed to knock on the bathroom door.

"Draco?" No answer. "Draco?"

Harry frowned and three the door open. Steam bellowed out and he frowned, squinting his eyes and removing his now fogged glasses. He called again but there was still no response. He rubbed his glasses and put them back on his face.

In the moment before they fogged over again he saw Draco sitting in a pink tinted bath.

"You have to be kidding me." He cast a feather light charm and pulled Draco from the water, a moment later the potions from the bedroom flew into is hands. With a few motions he managed to pour the majority of them down the blonde's throat. Slowly grey eyelids fluttered open.

"Hello." Was muttered sleepily and Harry couldn't help a small smile. The man shivered a bit and looked himself over. "Bloody hell."

"Bloody bath is more like it." Harry snorted and Draco looked up with him with a bit of rue. Harry took his glasses off again and rubbed them clean. This time when he put them back on he could see much better… too much better. The scars littering Draco's body failed to catch his attention next to the man's prick, softly nestled in groomed blonde hair. He felt himself swallow, but controlled his other reactions, Draco's head was on his lap after all, he had needed to prop his head up to pour the potions. Draco seemed oblivious to his own state of undress when he looked from Harry to the potion bottles.

"Did you summon those?" He asked, and his voice was chilly.

"If this wasn't an emergency I don't know what is." Harry grumbled and Draco rolled his eyes.

"We need to get you back in bed." He grumbled, rolling to his feet and cursing a bit. Either he had just noticed his state of undress or he was sore, but Harry couldn't tell which. Harry let Draco help him to his feet, enjoying the view on the way up and blushing slightly. He would blame it on the dissipating steam should Draco ask. They each put an arm around the other's shoulder, and somehow managed to get back to the bed before they collapsed in a pile of wet flesh and clothes. They lay panting there for a few moments before Harry chuckled.

"What is it now Potter?" Draco asked, sounding at the end of his temper.

"Just… I find it awfully cute at how wet you get for me." He heard Draco let out a deep groan and felt his head drop hard into his chest, but it didn't matter. He had a smile on his face.

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Draco had dreamed an awful dream. He had been in the bath when he had started bleeding from every old cut, but was fully aware of the problem the moment the bleeding had started. He hadn't taken his potions in a day and a half. He wasn't aware of much else until Harry and he were on the floor and his head was nestled in the man's lap. Draco grumbled and they had gone back to their room, he had collapsed on Harry in a fit of exhaustion and then Harry had proceeded to make a barrage of sexual jokes with him as the but(t? Even now his mind couldn't ignore it). Thankfully he was waking up.

"Morning darling, care to fetch me a cuppa?" A deep voice burbled happily from under his chest.

Sweet Merlin, he was never going to live this down.

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((Ok... well if your wondering about Soul Searching's epilogue it should be up before the week is out. College is just running my life right now.))


	15. The Truth at Last

**_The Truth at Last_**

((Hey, you guys still there? I know it's been a rough couple of weeks with these updates. I apologize about that. Cram week should be renamed cram MONTH! Anyway, after the second week of December things should even out again. Plus I'll have a new story up for you!

((Also this week I would like to introduce my new (and only) beta Lupin4Tonks! I'm sure you guys appreciate it, and I know I do! Well off to the story!))

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Harry smiled as Draco tried to open the drawers. He was fairly certain that the reason that they weren't opening was because he was so happy and amused at Draco's naked state. Still he couldn't bother to try and push that amusement away, and maybe he just didn't want to.

"Draco it's cold, get back in the bed." Harry said, trying to suppress a laugh as Draco snarled at the dresser again. Slowly the blond moved back to the bed and curled up under the blanket, shivering slightly. Harry moved over and tucked the blankets around him. The blond was curled up with his face in the pillow and the blankets over his head, as if that could hide his problems.

"I hate this." Draco growled. Harry frowned and moved under the blankets with him.

"Draco?"

"Oh shove off. The room's trying to be embarrassing and I can't even fight it. I don't need you to add insult to injury." He snarled. Harry shook his head and set a hand on Draco's back.

"There's no need to be embarrassed." Harry said softly, starting to feel a bit upset at his own part in Draco's sadness.

"I can't even get dressed!" Draco snarled. Harry sighed and started rubbing Draco's back. Draco sighed. "You don't need to pretend."

"What do you mean?"

"If I was in your position I would never want to see a naked man again." Draco grumbled into his pillow. Harry paused and then sighed.

"Given my orientation, I feel that would be counterproductive to finding a partner." Harry said after a few moments, gauging his words as he spoke them. He felt Draco stiffen his body under Harry's hand, and for a moment he thought the boy was going to pull away from him entirely. Instead the blanket slowly came back from Draco's head.

"Come again?"

"I don't think I've come at all yet." Harry laughed, trying to break the tension. Draco scowled and buried his face again. "Come on, you can get in my clothes if you feel that bad about it."

"You're a prude; you had to have the lights turned off the first time you changed." Draco grumbled.

"You've been taking care of me, it's the least I can do. And it's not like you haven't seen me naked now." Harry shivered a bit at that, repressing the memory that tried to come to the forefront of his mind. Once more Draco snuck out from under the blankets and looked at Harry, but his face was less of a scowl and had more wonderment. He slowly shook his head and blinked up at Harry.

"I…" Draco paused and Harry tried not to admire the way his cheeks were flushed and his hair tousled. Harry wasn't sure exactly what he was doing until his lips were pressed up against Draco's. Draco gasped softly pulling away.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't ha-" Harry was cut off as Draco pushed his lips back to Harry's opening his mouth and forced himself in. Harry moaned softly, running his hands up to Draco's hair. He gasped, breaking off after a few moments, closing his eyes so as not to look at the blonde.

"That was…"

"Brilliant." Draco finished for him.

"I was going to go with unexpected, but sure." Harry smiled softly. The room around them gave a tiny groan and Harry tried not to sigh. It shifted a bit and shrunk in, eliminating a place for another bed to be. What was once Draco's bed clothes transformed back into his robes. With a quick movement Draco ran over and hurried into them, glaring at the room as if it would try to take them back. Draco turned slowly when he was clothed, looking back at Harry with a mask not quite perfectly in place.

"Now what?" Draco asked; try to sound calm and cool. Harry smiled a bit, watching as Draco's silver eyes gave way to a bit of emotion, nervousness.

"Well, I'm hungry and you seem to be walking well enough, so if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to be able to have break- lunch? What meal are we on?"

"I'm not sure, let's see what the house elves have made." Draco muttered, holding out a hand. Harry took it, pulling himself to his feet and onto Draco's shoulder, wishing it was more of a show than it was. He really couldn't manage to stay upright on his own. He slouched onto Draco's shoulder though, pressing his nose against the man's neck and shoulder joint, sniffing at his hair where it lay splayed out against his skin. He felt Draco shudder softly and smiled a bit more. He let himself be sat down at the table and watched as Draco sat down on his own side. Dinner appeared in front of them and Harry snorted.

"We really shouldn't stay in bed all day." He joked. He watched as Draco's cheeks colored a bit.

"I guess the room is dong its job." He muttered. Harry looked up from his food and frowned.

"Do you think that's what it is?" He asked.

"Why else would you want me?" Draco muttered.

"I couldn't just want you on my own?" Harry asked sounding a bit offended.

"I'm a former Death Eater and we've been rivals since first year." Draco grumbled, stabbing at the meat on his plate.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that." Harry grumbled. "I couldn't stop looking for you this year. Every time I saw Luna I thought it was you and would start following her. It's why Gin and I broke up. I've always been looking for you."

"You sound like a sap." Draco muttered.

"Whatever. I'm just telling you what I've been thinking." Harry opened his mouth to say something else but Draco waived him off silently.

"I know you trust me now, and I should have said this earlier, but I wanted you to accept what I'm saying and not fight it…" He took a deep breath. "George Weasley is dead."

Harry paused before smiling.

"You're confused, Fred died, not George, and I knew that."

"No Harry, they're both dead. You probably thought George was just mourning Fred, but there was an old spell, one that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was experimenting with before he died. He cast it on Yaxley before he went into the final battle. He wanted to know what would happen, and I found out, long after he was dead. Harry, it switches souls when someone tries to kill another person. It uses the cracking of the attackers soul to switch them out of the body. George might look like himself, but…"

"You're wrong." Harry said, smiling slightly. "He knows things that no one who wasn't George would know."

"Souls Harry, not brains. He has access to all of George's memor-!"

"You're wrong!" Harry shouted pushing himself to his feet.

"Fine. I'm wrong." Draco snarled getting to his feet as well. "I was wrong about staying away from Hufflepuffs and I'm wrong again."

"No, Draco wait!"

"Draco…" Draco paused. "You don't trust me, why would you assume we're friends?" He stormed out of the main door. Harry cursed, setting his head in his hands and growling.

Draco was wrong. Sure George had been down for a while, not acting like himself, but he wasn't someone else. He was just… depressed. Harry sighed and tried to eat but didn't manage to finish what was on his plate. By the time he managed to get back in bed he was exhausted. He closed his eyes and was out.

* * *

He woke up to a warm spot in the bed, but no Draco. He tried calling out a few times, but there was no response. Sighing he worked his way to the door, he would go eat breakfast, but he didn't want to. He wanted to talk to Draco.

The door opened into the hospital wing and he blinked. A moment later his ears picked up a soft sound, then another. It was voices, quiet as if they were behind a set of thick curtains. Moving forward he shuffled as quietly as possible.

"A right ass…"

"Draco, eat something."

"I don't want to… I'm not hungry."

"You hardly ate last night, I'm worried about you." A ping of jealously shot through Harry's heart almost too fast for him to recognize it.

"You worry too much. It's a wonder you manage your job."

"Stop, one of these day's you'll be an old nag like myself." She laughed and Harry sighed. Pomfrey was wonderful.

"I just… ugh."

"Isn't that always the case." Pomfrey laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"With love! The stronger the love the harder it is to get past the small things. People expect small things to melt away, but they're always there, just like thorns in the side until you remove them."

"I'm not in love." Draco grumbled.

"Oh yes you are. Draco I've known you since you were a boy. I've watched my fair share of crooning witches and love struck wizards… You and Harry, everything aside, are in it deep." Pomfrey said with her warm smile, Harry didn't even need to tell her to know it was there.

"Maybe I am, but if he was, he wouldn't be such a right git." Draco snorted.

"Oh you both are, but you give Harry too much credit. I've known him as long as I've known you, with just about as much frequency. You two were always top visitors." Harry frowned, he knew he was a top visitor to the hospital wing, but Draco? Surely the boy couldn't always have run into annoyed hippogriffs.

"_You_ give him too much credit." Draco grumbled.

"Harry's just a boy yet. He might act like a man but he's still just a child. You come in and you tear apart his world. He was just coming to terms with himself as a normal person, he's never had a normal life Draco. You should know what that's all about."

"Did he need to ignore me like that?"

"He's upset. He can't comprehend that anyone else he loved died. Imagine if Jhana died."

"Don't talk about Jhana." Draco's voice was cold and crisp. There was a pause and then a mutter that sounded like an apology.

"I know. It's fine Draco. I just wanted you to think about it. The Weasleys are the only family he's ever known."

"What about those muggles."

"That's not my place to talk." Pomfrey said softly. Harry came out slowly from around the corner.

"I half starved every summer. I was worse than a house elf to them. They didn't even want me."

"Harry…"

"So you can call me by my first name but I can't call you by yours?"

"I…"

"No, I understand." Harry hobbled over and plopped down on an open chair. "But I need you to understand as well."

"I… I understand that it's hard for you. But I need you to trust me. Yaxley isn't going to be unobtrusive much longer. When school gets out, and he has the whole family to himself…"

"Ron… Ginny."

"Exactly." Draco said firmly. "But the problem is that we can't prove it. We can't…"

"Can we get George back?" Harry asked softly.

"His soul was in Yaxley's body when it was killed, it would be like trying to revive the dead…"

"But the spell…"

"Takes place between the connection of the killing curse and the actual death. It's brief but there is no exchange of souls after death, no returning souls to bodies after they've crossed over." Draco said softly, rising to his feet.

"Then… George?"

"Died when he tried to kill Yaxley."

"How do you know about this?"

"My father went crazy. He babbles all the time. He knew about Yaxley, knew about the Smith family's secret allegiance. It was no coincidence when Smith was in and out of your club, he was a rat." Draco muttered. "And with Yaxley slowly starting to reach out to other surviving, hiding death eaters, I knew you would be in danger again. No Slytherin would try, we're too cautious even if some of our family was on the run. But the Hufflepuffs…"

"So what do we do?" Harry asked slowly.

"I… I don't know." Draco muttered.

* * *

((Bum-Bum-BAH! Ok, what do you think? And don't forget to shower Lupin4Tonks with love!))


	16. You Know

**You Know...**

((Sorry it took so long! Life's been hectic! On vacation till January so I should be able to go back to doing my once a week updates! Hopefully... I might even get another story up soon! Until then, I hope you enjoy!))

* * *

Harry let Draco drag him back to their room, back to their bed. He didn't, however, let Draco go fetch him the water he was muttering about. Instead Harry clasped his fingers into the fine blonde hair and pulled the man forward. Their lips met and slowly Draco's complaints fell away to the soft undulation of their tongues.

The kiss wasn't passionate. It wasn't heated or filled with tension. It was soft, stroking movements, reaction for reaction, reassurance of the other's presence and intents.

"This isn't the — room."

"I know."

"I think I've l-oved you for a while.

"Shh…"

"Draco…"

"Mmm, yes." Their murmurs between kisses barely needed words. Harry would try to break to explain things to Draco, but the boy was having none of it. Soft kisses and touches seemed to last forever for them, eyes half lidded with pleasure but not urgency. Each boy wanted to look into the other's eyes, shutting them only when they could no longer keep them open.

Slowly the kisses drifted from their mouths. Down Harry's cheek, Draco kissed and licked a path, murmuring softly. He grumbled and spelled off Harry's shirt, smiling when he found what he was looking for. Without hesitating, Draco set his lips above Harry's heart and began kissing the skin there, nuzzling it gently. Harry shuddered at the attention, trying to draw Draco away.

"Let me claim what's mine." Draco growled when Harry started to whine a protest. Harry shut up immediately and closed his eyes. He couldn't bear to watch Draco move so sweetly over his skin, could barely bear feeling his lips there, his teeth scraping and his mouth sucking a mark into Harry. "My very own dark mark."

Harry's eyes shot open and he looked down to see Draco's eyes filled with mirth. He attacked Harry's open mouth with vigor. Harry chuckled softly into the kiss before rolling them over so that he was on top.

"Going to mark me back?" Draco nearly purred.

"Nothing so unoriginal." Harry chuckled and then laughed as Draco scowled. The boy started to ask a question but was cut off as Harry set his forehead to Draco's letting their eyes connect and their breaths mingle. He smiled softly and held Draco in place for a few moments, his fingertips on Draco's pulse point. Then he smiled, reaching down to grab the boy's hand. He brought it up to his own neck and smiled.

"If you lie with someone, your body adjusts to them. Your heart adjusts to beat with theirs." Draco's eyes widened a bit as he felt his pulse beating the same rhythm as Harry's.

"A spell?"

"Just nature." Harry smiled, leaning down to kiss Draco. "Now our hearts will always go back to the same beat."

Draco closed his eyes for a moment.

"You're such a romantic sap."

"You love it."

"Shut up."

Harry laughed as Draco turned away and pouted. He bent forward, recapturing Draco's lips and teasing them gently. Draco muttered something else.

"Hm?"

"I said I hope that you're just a naturally good kisser." Draco grumbled. Harry smiled again, and went back to kissing Draco.

Eventually one of their stomachs growled (naturally it _couldn't_ have been Draco's so it _must_ have been Harry's) and they slowly stopped their kissing and worked their way to the table. Harry laughed when the table had changed so that there were candles on it, and Draco muttered something about 'how tacky' which made Harry laugh harder. He sat down to enjoy his candle-lit lunch across from Draco.

"I need to take a shower." Harry said softly and Draco nodded. Harry laughed and flung a pea at him. Draco laughed a bit and rolled his eyes.

"Just so long as the bloody room doesn't expect us to shower together," Draco grumbled and Harry let out a groan.

"Oh don't give it any ideas!"

"You don't think it can hear us do you?" Draco asked sounding alarmed.

"Well it bloody well seems to be able to read our minds." Harry sighed. Draco grumbled and stood up. The rooms seemed to sway for a moment, and whether it was real, Harry's condition, or his imagination, it was disconcerting. "I can see people becoming less likely to fall in love with each other in these rooms. I wouldn't want to be constantly pushed onto someone I didn't like."

"Go shower." Draco said softly and Harry couldn't tell the inflection behind it. He smiled back at the blonde and made his way to the bathroom. He cooled himself off with his shower and took care of himself before he slowly made his way back to the common room. Draco wasn't there, and Harry frowned before knocking on the bedroom door.

"It's your room too." Came the muffled voice through the door. Harry slowly entered the room to find Draco…

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, trying to keep the expression out of his voice and off of his face.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Draco muttered.

Harry paused before a slow smile slid across his face and he moved across the room, joining Draco on the bed.

"You're…"

"Amazing? I know."

"I was going to say absurd, but amazing works too." Harry smiled and laughed lightly.

Draco frowned and pursed his lips in displeasure before sighing.

"I thought you would like it." He muttered and Harry smiled.

"I do." He said, kissing Draco's ear. "But why?"

"It's so much better than all that ruddy red!" Draco growled and Harry laughed. Strewn across the room were splashes of silver and gold over the red and white paint.

"But the damned thing doesn't respond to charms so I had to use spatter spells and…" Draco cast another one silently and Harry tried to keep from laughing. He put his hand on the wand as Draco cast again and they both gasped as the room changed as the spell hit the wall.

Draco looked at the room and the effect before sighing. Harry laughed and leaned over to kiss Draco's cheek as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Draco smiled and then sighed again.

"We should talk." Draco muttered. Harry sighed this time.

"Do we have to?"

"What would you rather go back to kissing?"

"Much." Harry murmured and nuzzled into Draco's neck then licked it. "Maybe more."

"Stop. We need to talk." Draco tried to sound stern but there was a quaver in his voice.

"Last time we tried to talk about it…" Harry grumbled, letting his weight drop on Draco's shoulder.

"We're going to fight." Draco said simply. "But you knew that anyway, look at Granger and Weas—Weasley."

Harry smirked, glad that Draco had corrected himself.

"I suppose. But this isn't exactly like that." He grumbled, his mouth still on Draco's neck.

"No we went from hate to l-like not from amiability to hate to like." Draco smirked. "Let's go over facts then, just basics so we know where we stand."

"This isn't normal." Harry grumbled. "Most people stumble around trying to figure it out."

Draco raised an eyebrow and pushed Harry back.

"What makes you think I would ever deem myself plebian enough to be considered 'most people'?" Draco asked. Harry rolled his eyes and sat up.

"Fine. We're monogamous."

"Possessive Potter?"

"Shut it Malfoy." Harry laughed as Draco feigned a hurt expression.

"Fine, you skilled a few but that will work. Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Draco paused, "I'm not exactly the pick of the litter here. I'm disowned, as far as we know permanently disabled by this curse, I was a Death Eater…"

"Shut up." Harry grumbled as Draco started to trail off, his face returning to it's mask. Draco looked up and Harry stole a kiss.

"You're probably the only wizard in Britain, or maybe Europe who sees me as more than just the Chosen One." He murmured. "You're a stubborn arse, you're a prat, you saved my life, you're logical, you're more affectionate than I could have imagined, there's so much under your mask, you're smart and caring and there's so much more I want to learn about you so I can expand that list."

"You're a right arse yourself." Draco muttered, but under his hooded eyes there was a shine of affection Harry could discern.

"And me?" Harry asked.

"You're the Chosen One, obviously." Draco shrugged and then yelped when Harry punched his shoulder.

"Which one of us is an arse now?" Harry snorted.

"All this talk of arses…"

"Shut it and answer the question." Harry laughed, wondering when he had become so comfortable with Draco, probably some time after he saved his life. He wondered if this was what hero worship was like, and then decided that he had cared for Draco long before that. It was just a tipping point. Maybe he had first started feeling it as pity, when he watched Draco through Voldemort's eyes…

"Because you're you. There's really nothing else about it." Draco shrugged. "You're rather dim, and have trust issues, your choice in friends is abominable, yes I know you think I'm one to talk, you're infuriating, but you're still a bloody good kisser."

"I do feel loved." Harry snorted.

"Well, you are rather cute and nearly good company as well." Draco said after a few moments. Harry laughed and shook his head.

"I'll take it." He smirked. "Back to the kissing now?"

"Honestly Harry." Draco rolled his eyes.

"That sounded like a no."

"It was," Draco said shaking his head and smiling a bit. "We like each other and we're monogamous, so we're dating I assume? Yes, and we're letting your friends know?"

"Yes, well, I am. And we should maybe not be affectionate in front of them. That would be good." Harry said and scowled as a slight smile. "What else do we need to discuss?"

"What's going to kill your libido." Draco rolled his eyes. "We need to figure out what to do about Yaxley."

Harry sighed and pulled himself completely off Draco now.

"That did it." He grumbled.

"Good to know." Draco said, but there was little amusement in his voice. "He's in George's body."

"I believe you now, there's no reason to doubt you, but is there any way we can prove it?" Harry asked, making sure to pussyfoot around what he thought was a sore spot.

"The easiest way would be to have him confess under veritaserum." Draco said thoughtfully. "The right questions should separate the consciousness of his soul from the unconsciousness of his soul."

"You've lost me."

"The mind that Yaxley possesses is George's but it's only acting like a storehouse. As far as I could tell, George's body will rebel against the soul… It is similar to the way that a body rejects a splinter, it is something that happens no matter the state of the consciousness as long as the body is alive. Unfortunately even if George's body can succeed in pushing out the soul it will become something more than a ghost and less than a man."

"I'm still not sure I understand."

"The soul has a special signature; it is this signature; it is this signature that reacts to the wand. It is also by this signature that a dementor can suck out the soul. Each mind is attuned to the soul signature and starts to fail when it is gone. When the signature vanishes it is like… oh Snape did explain this to me in muggle terms, like a radio signal is lost. The mind stops functioning and the body decays. When one replaces one signal with another though, there are discrepancies. These discrepancies can be overcome at the cost of the body, leaving it weakened. Or the body wins and the soul is expelled and strengthened, taking the body's life force with it. The soul becomes something like a dementor… a leach that slowly steals souls, but possesses them before they die… A vampire ghost of sorts."

"That's ridiculous."

"Think of it this way. The soul and the mind need each other to work. You know a mind without a soul deteriorates, it works the same way for a soul without a mind. Ghosts and portraits are balanced off in that their phantasm simulates both, yet in reality they have moved on and what is behind is an image. Now with the soul without a mind, it attacks the minds it can find and manages to detach the soul from the body." Draco said, trying to be coherent.

"So, what do we do?"

"We have to find a way to capture his soul and then destroy it."

* * *

((There we go! What do you think? Read and review please!))


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